By SF and ED
Posted yesterday at 23:59, Updated 8 minutes ago
Olympique de Marseille will not play in the 2023-24 Champions League. CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP
After their defeat in the first leg in Greece (1-0), Marseille believed in it for a long time until a fateful penalty shootout on Tuesday against Panathinaikos (2-1, 3-5). OM will not play in the Champions League.
Olympique Marseille’s Champions League dream has come to an end. Marcelino’s players won in the second leg of the third preliminary round of the Champions League on Tuesday against Panathinaikos (2-1) by an insufficient gap to erase their defeat in Greece a week earlier (1-0). OM finally cracked after a penalty shootout (3-5).
It was a metamorphosed OM who first turned things around at the Vélodrome. From the first minutes of play, the Marseillais showed a very different face compared to the last confrontation. Marcelino’s men were also rewarded from the first minute, thanks to a goal from rookie Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The former Greens striker capsized the Vélodrome and launched the Marseille revolt perfectly to hope to play in the final phase of C1.
Ruthless video arbitration with OM
The Gabonese international even achieved the double by scoring just before the break (45th + 1). OM signed a one-sided first half and were virtually qualified after the first 45 minutes of play. As soon as they returned from the locker room, things changed. Apart from a nice goal disallowed for an offside position by Ismaïla Sarr, the Marseillais missed several opportunities to drive the point home, before suffering in the last half hour, sometimes relying on their goalkeeper Pau Lopez.
The English referee Michael Oliver found himself at the center of the debates during Marseille-Panathinaikos. Norbert Scanella / PANORAMIC
The Olympians ended up cracking on a whistled penalty, after an unfortunate and involuntary handball from Mattéo Guendouzi. With the help of the VAR, Michael Oliver awarded a penalty to the Greeks, perfectly transformed by Fotis Ioannidis (90th + 9). In an extension where the organizations were put to the test, OM still vibrated. Vitinha, who came into play, thought he would give the Phocaeans a precious advantage (110th), but the VAR still disgusted the Vélodrome for a tiny offside position.
The Europa League in consolation prize
It took an unbreathable penalty shootout to decide between the two teams. Marcelino attempted a gamble by letting Ruben Blanco put on the gloves at the expense of Pau Lopez, but the Celta Vigo-trained goalkeeper failed to be decisive. Guendouzi, decidedly unhappy, is the only Marseillais to have missed his attempt.
In the end, it was Panathinaikos who won (3-5), depriving OM of the Champions League this season. The Greeks will face the Portuguese club Braga in the play-offs, the last stage before entering the group stage. Marseille, for its part, is transferred to the Europa League. A meager consolation prize.
