OM were insufficient on the road against Benfica Lisbon this Thursday April 11. A 2-1 defeat which does not help the affairs of Jean-Louis Gasset’s men, who see their future darkening in this quarter-final of the Europa League, even though nothing is going well in Ligue 1.
Published on: 04/11/2024 – 11:07 p.m.
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No French club has ever won at the Stade de la Lumière in Lisbon. OM did not break the series on April 11, in the quarter-final first leg of the Europa League. And it did even worse, since the Marseille club lost on Portuguese soil and gave the Lisbon side a good advantage, before the return match in a week at the Vélodrome.
It was a former Parisian who almost started the first fire in the Marseille defense. At the very start of the match, Angel Di Maria sent a superb cross to Alexander Bah, who turned the spark into a damp squib by tangling his brushes in front of the goal. Rafa Silva did not have this clumsiness on the following occasion (16th). In a moment of hesitation from the Olympian rearguard, Casper Tengstedt grabbed the leather to serve Rafa Silva very close to the goal, who did not bother with conventions and finished from the point.
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OM did not revolt immediately. Yet he had room for it. In the transitions, after recovering the ball, Jean-Louis Gasset’s men benefited from large spaces, but did not show sufficient technical ease to exploit them in the first act. Like this overly long pass from Amine Harit (23rd), who had, a second earlier, mystified his opposite number with an oriented control and who had the comfort to initiate an ultra-dangerous attack.
A revolt that rang hollow
And on the European scene, waste can be costly. In the following minute, Tengstedt almost stood out in front of goal again, perfectly launched. Leonardo Balerdi almost stole the ball at the last minute before he lined up Pau Lopez. Until the break, OM appeared inferior. After the intermission, Benfica added a touch of humiliation. At the end of a well-conducted counter, punctuated by a one-two between Di Maria and Neres, it was the former PSG who scored the break goal without forcing with the flat of his foot (52nd).
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, completely invisible before the hour mark, gave his team hope. At the end of a solo run behind the defense, thanks to an error of judgment from the opposing hinge, the Gabonese attacker opened his foot to finish alone against the goalkeeper (67th).
Certainly, the Marseillais regained color and revived the songs of their supporters, finally authorized to make the trip to Lisbon. But they never completely shook their opponents in the evening. Only Amine Harit came close to regaining the score, but his volley at the far post lacked balance.
Overall, OM was insufficient, although more consistent in the last 20 minutes. Is the Lisbon heat to blame? It wasn’t so hot during the first four defeats of this current dark series for the Olympians. Worse still, Jean-Louis Gasset lost his starting left-back in the person of Quentin Merlin, who came out injured, visibly badly in the knee, just before the break. He will fill the infirmary alongside Jean Onana, Jonathan Clauss and Valentin Rongier, to name a few. We will have to do better, and with the strength at our disposal, to hope for a place in the last four and add shine to a season which is becoming more complicated.
