2023-11-10 00:03:00
After garnering five points in the first leg, Olympique de Marseille intended to take a further step towards qualifying for the next round of the Europa League with this tense trip to be negotiated in Athens. Gennaro Gattuso’s men made a serious start, with Vitinha missing a great opportunity a quarter of an hour into the game by missing his shot from the penalty spot (16th).
Mbemba scores, a nod to Rongier
As in the first leg, the Phocaeans will open the scoring: on a corner taken from the right side by Jonathan Clauss, Chancel Mbemba wins his duel with Szymanski to shake the nets and above all put his team on the right track (0-1, 22nd ). The players celebrate with a Rongier flocked jersey, in tribute to their teammate who was injured for several weeks.
Despite a full stadium, AEK has not entered this match for the moment and Chancel Mbemba almost scored a double. The Congolese international is again on the receiving end of a good corner but this time the Greek goalkeeper intervenes by clearing the ball with his fists. Before half-time, Gacinovic tries from afar to try to wake up his team but his shot goes over the uprights of Pau Lopez (44th). OM returns to the locker room with a short but logical advantage.
Pau Lopez determining
The break was good for the Athenians who returned to the field with much better intentions. It takes a big intervention from Pau Lopez on a header from Levi Garcia to prevent the Greek equalizer (51st). The atmosphere becomes more tense on the benches, with one of the AEK assistants being sent off directly by referee Glenn Nyberg. The OM goalkeeper continued his flawless performance with another decisive save on a shot from the left side by Gacinovic (55th). The Greek champions failed to capitalize on this strong moment. OM manages its lead but Iliman Ndiaye cannot recover his ball alone on the left side (79th). Shortly after, it was Vitinha who found the Athenian post with a powerful cross strike (80th).
The end of the match was electric with the siege of the Marseille goal: AEK obtained several dangerous corners in a row and Jonathan Clauss distinguished himself with a save on his line (89th). Pau Lopez is also imperial and reassures his family. It is ultimately OM who will succeed in scoring the second goal of this evening: on a high recovery, Jordan Veretout escapes full axis and can serve Ismaïla Sarr, free of any marking, to finish the job (2-0 , 90th+3).
After four days, Olympique de Marseille are leader of their Europa League group before hosting Ajax and traveling to Brighton. Gennaro Gattuso’s men confirm their good European health and can look forward to the future with confidence. It remains to be confirmed in the championship where OM have only won one match since August. A new big test awaits the Olympians with a trip to Lens on Sunday evening.
#job #Athens