In the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League, Marseille had to lose this Wednesday in Athens (0-0).
OM fell into the trap this Wednesday in the first leg of their duel against Panathinaikos, counting for the 3e preliminary round of the Champions League. Playing outside, in a hostile environment and with particularly unfavorable refereeing, Marcelino’s team stood up to their host for a long time before giving in five minutes from time.
OM cracked towards the end
The Marseille rearguard ended up breaking in the 84e following a beautiful movement at three of Pana. It was the Brazilian Bernard, the former Everton, who found himself the conclusion, converting a pass from another substitute, Ionnadis.
The Olympians therefore ended up cracking, but the result over the match as a whole is not illogical. They expected a standoff and they were served. The Greeks were aggressive and enterprising from the start and it took a lot of solidarity and composure from the visitors not to give in sooner.
And the adversity was double, since the whistles against the man in black were too numerous. The Romanian referee has often sanctioned the French and distributed cards all over the place.
A particularly unfavorable arbitration
Geoffrey Kondogbia paid the price. Warned from 1e minute, the former Atlético found himself penalized for a committed game. And what we feared, namely expulsion, ended up happening at the 65e minute. Already in the hard at 11 against 11, the Marseillais were even more heckled in numerical inferiority. They held out until Jovanovic’s winning coaching.
Apart from the goal, the Hellenes will not have really worried Pau Lopez. The main alert occurred at the 55e when the Slovenian Sporar presented himself in a favorable position in the area. His shot, however, was perfectly neutralized by captain Samuel Gigot. OM also had their chance to open the scoring. A double chance even, with strikes from outside the area signed Ounahi and Clauss. The first was countered, and the second ended up over.
Marseille fell, but there is nothing irreversible. On the way back, at the Stade Orange Vélodrome, Aubameyang and others can perfectly turn the tide. If they show the same combativeness and also find a more fluid game, they have the means to ensure qualification.
