After 120 breathtaking minutes and a penalty shootout on Tuesday evening at the Stade Vélodrome, OM were eliminated by Panathinaikos in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
Arrived 3rd in Ligue 1 last season, behind PSG and RC Lens, OM will not compete in the Champions League this fall. The Phocaeans were eliminated in the third qualifying round by Panathinaikos, after a 1-0 defeat in Athens, after a catastrophic match, then a largely dominated return match which turned into a disaster. In a burning Velodrome, Marcelino’s men had the opportunity to qualify for 120 minutes before losing the penalty shootout (2-1, 3 tab to 5). They will play the Europa League group stage.
A double from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was not enough at first. The 34-year-old center-forward opened the entry scoring, on a deep service from Ismaïla Sarr (2nd), and gave his team the advantage in this double confrontation just before half-time, on a cross from Jonathan Clauss (45th + 1).
Cursed Guendouzi
The Vélodrome caught fire, dreaming of great European evenings (like last year), but Marcelino’s men lost control of the game in the second half and Pana, admittedly harmless, took advantage of a blocked ball from the hand by Mattéo Guendouzi to snatch the extension on a penalty from Fotis Ioannidis (90th + 9).
The nerves of the Marseille supporters were also put to the test during the extra time, since OM thought they had scored the qualifying goal. Vitinha, who had missed the 3-0 (81st) and 3-1 (104th), scored on a cross from Guendouzi, but the goal was disallowed in general confusion, the video referee having detected the offside of Sarr (110th). Ruben Blanco was started for the penalty shootout, but a missed entry from Guendouzi put the Greeks on the road to the play-offs (against Braga).
