Published on : 05/05/2022 – 09:26
OM have the opportunity to play in a new European final, the sixth in their history, provided they overcome Thursday at the Stade Vélodrome, Feyenoord Rotterdam, in the semi-final return of the C4. The Dutch club had won the first leg (3-2), taking advantage of Marseille’s defensive mistakes.
Jostled by Feyenoord Rotterdam in the semi-final first leg of the Europa League Conference (3-2), Olympique de Marseille must resume, Thursday, May 5, in a Velodrome which is just waiting to ignite.
To play a sixth European final and be “forever” the first club to put its name on the list of winners of this new competition, OM must imperatively put an end to their defensive mistakes displayed during their last two outings (6 goals conceded). .
Mistakes that weighed down the ultimate French representative in continental competitions, when he remained, before his defeat in the Netherlands, on a series of ten victories in eleven matches.
A sign of their poor form, OM also toasted a joker on Sunday in Ligue 1, losing heavily at home to Lyon (0-3). A setback that allows its pursuers, Rennes and Monaco, to come back to 3 points from second place, synonymous with direct qualification for the Champions League.
A weakened defense
Like the solid pillar of the OM defence, the Croatian international Duje Caleta-Car, author of a monumental blunder that led to Feyenoord’s third goal on Thursday, OM’s rearguard shows disturbing signs of feverishness and fatigue. Even the stunning new French international William Saliba, impressively mature throughout the season, seems dull.
And what about the lack of serenity of Luan Peres. The Brazilian defender, recruited in the offseason at the request of coach Jorge Sampaoli, often appears borrowed from the left side of the defense, where some of his interventions frequently give Marseille supporters cold sweats.
It must be said that the OM defenders, who are playing their first season together, are very exposed to opposing offensive waves because of the demanding game demanded by their Argentine coach, who swears only by possession.
If the football produced by OM this season can offer spectacular matches, it can also cost them dearly with the slightest loss of ball in a critical area. But Duje Caleta-Car and Luan Peres are not great sprinters. Once the defense was caught in the back, as was often the case in the first leg against a Feyenoord fan of long balls in depth, only William Saliba could react quickly.
If Boubacar Kamara, the all-purpose sentry, can help out in the middle, the absences of young Leonardo Balerdi (injured) and former defense manager Alvaro Gonzalez (sidelined from the group) do not leave much of options to Jorge Sampaoli. It is therefore impossible to breathe the holders as the club approaches the home stretch and has just recorded two consecutive defeats for the first time this season.
Avoid the fiasco of 2018
The club that won the Champions League in 1993, the only one won by a French team, can still win everything: a qualification against Feyenoord synonymous with the final in Tirana on May 25 while retaining its place as runner-up in Ligue 1. It can especially still lose everything. Like in 2018 when OM, Rudi Garcia version, sank in the Europa League final, against Atlético Madrid, and finished in fourth place in the championship.
A fear of the void that can paralyze some players, especially at the Vélodrome where the club has systematically conceded a goal in all its C4 matches, while the Dutch have scored at least three goals in each of their outings since the 8th final.
“We have had nine months of high quality but if we miss the last three weeks, it’s nine months for nothing,” said captain Dimitri Payet, who lived through the fiasco of 2018, last week. losing in a few days is horrible. You have to give everything to have no regrets.”
Jorge Sampaoli, the Marseille coach, seems to know the recipe for meeting the expectations of a Marseille public weaned from the title since the 2012 League Cup.
“The key to qualifying is to dominate over time, to have the ball and not to share the attacking phases with the opponent, otherwise we will be in difficulty (…)”, declared Jorge Sampaoli, Wednesday in press conference. “At one point we were one of the strongest teams in Europe, just by having control of the ball.”
Confiscating the ball to relieve the defense is a good idea. But that will not be enough. Above all, it will be necessary to seize the opportunities so as not to have the same regrets as after the first leg. And do not miss a chance to reconnect with the intoxication of a European final.
