Disappointed, upset, revolted… There is reason to be at OM, who lowered their flag in their stadium against the gradeless Annecy 2-2, 7-6 on penalties in the quarter-finals of the Cup from France, Wednesday evening. Legitimate feelings with a stronger title when we have eliminated opponents of the caliber of Rennes and PSG, that the Coupe de France is only three victories away and that we have not won anything for an eternity…
In their post-match reactions, several OM captains, Mattéo Guendouzi and Valentin Rongier in particular, did not mince words. “We are ashamed,” said Guendouzi. We had a non-match, it’s professional misconduct on our part. It’s a huge disappointment and it’s not worthy of OM…” Winner of the event ten times, the last time in 1989, OM opened the scoring through Veretout (1-0, 29th) then conceded two goals by Sahi Dion (53rd) and Mouanga (59th), before Mughe equalized after additional time (90th + 6).
“We weren’t there”
“We can only blame ourselves, added the international environment. It’s not normal. We had to take a break but we didn’t know how to capitalize on our chances, we were a bit light in the duels. We weren’t there. You’re safe from nothing in football when you don’t put the ingredients. We are ashamed, for us, for the club and for the supporters who are waiting for this trophy. You have to quickly switch and move on. There is a season to end. »
Another figure in the Marseille environment, Rongier was on the same wavelength as his teammate: “More than disappointment, there is nervousness, he said at the microphone of BeIN. We have to take it now. This is gross professional misconduct. We respected Annecy too much, they played without complex, we had done the hardest part by scoring. We have to win the game before the penalty shootout. We are at home and we must show our superiority from start to finish against a Ligue 2. “
Rongier refuses to hide behind the infernal cadences or any other excuse: “It’s not a question of physical freshness. Every game, but even more in the Cup, there is no fatigue, it’s all in the head. There remains the championship, we can understand the frustration of the supporters, we had a chance to win the Cup this year. »
“I have a little trouble explaining it”
“It’s a great disappointment, a great sadness, confided Igor Tudor, the Croatian technician, after the meeting. We are coming out of a competition where we eliminated PSG (2-1 in 8th, editor’s note) and Rennes (1-0 in 16th), it’s madness. Apart from a few details, I’m having a little trouble explaining this at the moment. There is no break, just great sadness. I don’t think the players underestimated the opponent. »
More measured, Pau Lopez, the Spanish goalkeeper of the Phocaeans nevertheless made his mea culpa: “I’m sorry. I have to congratulate Annecy, but it’s our fault. Taking two goals in five minutes is not normal…”
“We believed in it, we are disappointed, added Igor Tudor. Annecy played a great match, at a level I never imagined for an L2 team. On our side, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. Our flaws came out. Taking two goals at home is not justifiable. And in front, we couldn’t tell the difference. They defended themselves tooth and nail, we had a post, chances, a missed penalty… They gave their all and they succeeded. Clearly, when you go out against an L2, it’s because you did badly. »