This Thursday, OM got back on track and took the lead in their Europa League group by winning at home against AEK Athens.
It is in a friendly atmosphere that theOlympic Marseille played part of its European future this Thursday. Inhabited by a friendly atmosphere due to the friendship between the CU84 and the Original 21, a group of supporters of theAEK Athensthe Stade Vélodrome welcomed 64,500 supporters and a superb tifo for the occasion.
Vitinha finds the loophole
On the pitch, the pace of the match was not the most spectacular but the Olympians gradually got the measure of their opponent. Dominant, Gennaro Gattuso’s men get the first chances of the game but Iliman N’Diaye misses his attempts (20th, 24th). It is finally Vitinhapreferred to Aubameyang in the starting eleven, who finds the fault on his first strike by receiving a cross from Jonathan Clauswhich confirms its excellent start to the season. (1-0, 27th)
Jonathan Clauss finds VITINHA in the area and it’s the opener for the Phocaeans! 🔵⚪️#OMAEK : 1️⃣-0️⃣ | #UEL pic.twitter.com/ZAGUTTYTZI
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) October 26, 2023
The Greeks try to react and are particularly dangerous on set pieces and think of equalizing just before the break, but Steve Zuber is finally flagged offside, allowing OM to return to the locker room with a one-goal lead.
OM surprised but responsive
At the start of the second half, AEK surprised the Marseille defense with an overflow and Ordbelin Pineda deceives Ruben Blanco in two stages with a touch of success. (1-1, 53rd) The match gets carried away and in the process, the AEK goalkeeper Cican Stankovic misses his recovery on Vitinha, which he then catches even though the ball had clearly escaped him. First sanctioned with a yellow card, the Austrian goalkeeper was then excluded and left his replacement Georgios Theocharis facing Amine Harit at the penalty spot. Without trembling, the Moroccan transformed with a perfect counterattack and allowed his team to regain the advantage on the hour mark (2-1, 60th).
The expulsion of Stankovic and the composure of Amine Harit to regain the advantage! 🟥#OMAEK | #UEL pic.twitter.com/BnVzaYXtpT
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) October 26, 2023
Enough to galvanize Gattuso’s men who were awarded a new penalty following a foul by Amrabat on Renan Lodi in the area. On the same side as Harit, this time it’s Jordan Veretout who takes Theocharis on the wrong foot and makes the break for his team (3-1, 69th). Join the game, Ismaila Sarr drives home the point after enormous work from Iliman n’Diaye to bring the score to 4-1, but the Senegalese is finally flagged in an offside position.
The Marseillais calmly managed and dominated the end of the match until the final whistle. Thanks to this victory (3-1), OM takes first place in the group and can calmly await the result of the match between Ajax Amsterdam and Brighton. next meeting on Sunday against Olympique Lyonnais with the ambition of finally stringing together two consecutive successes.
