The last French representative in the European Cup after Paris Saint-Germain’s exit in the Champions League, Olympique de Marseille carried all the hopes of French football and the country last night in Bergamo. Opposed to Atalanta, Jean-Louis Gasset’s troops hoped to make a dent after conceding a draw (1-1) during the first leg at the Orange Vélodrome. But they never really managed to exist last night against the Dea. Gian Piero Gasperini’s team won 3-0 at the Gewiss Stadium.
Lucid and disappointed Olympians
Eliminated, the Marseillais were obviously very disappointed. After the match, Gasset was very lucid about his team’s performance. Jean-Louis Gasset: “It’s inexplicable. It’s inexplicable to go from one week to the next, competing with a good team and today, to qualify for a final, to be beaten in aggression, in all the duels, that’s the image of the season. We had a little hope compared to the first leg. But we fell back into our mistakes… So hot like that, when we see the European matches we played away, we were in a bit of the same lethargy. It’s incomprehensible.”
Samuel Gigot is of the same opinion. His words are relayed by The Phocaean. “Yes, it’s true, very sad, very disappointed. I don’t think we were good tonight. We weren’t up to par. I think we knew that it was a team that was going to put a lot of intensity, a lot of duels. And when you lose so many duels in a match like that, it’s not possible, especially in a semi-final second leg. So very disappointed, because we would have liked to bring a whole crowd. We would have liked to go to the final, but unfortunately, it ends there tonight.” The defender then did it again.
Disgusted supporters
“I think they suffocated us. That’s what they wanted. Play one-on-one everywhere. And we saw it on the hour mark, I think they took the psychological advantage, physically they were better than us, but… very, very disappointed, it’s hard to explain. It’s not just the Olympians who are disappointed. The supporters, who pushed the team in Bergamo as elsewhere, are also. Questioned by La Provence, several of them showed their rage after the meeting. One notably mentioned the occasion of Iliman Ndiaye in the 60th. “The turning point of the match” according to him.
In the columns of Parisiananother Marseille fan told him: “I’m disgusted…the players haven’t played a half of the European Cup (…) OM are too weak to hope for anything this evening (yesterday).” The press, too, is not kind to the Phocaeans. “Non-existent in Bergamo, the Olympians stop in the Europa League semi-final”as Provence before saying more. “On the lawn of the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia stadium, they even wandered like eleven lost souls, a thousand miles from the conquering face exhibited last week at the Vélodrome. Ademola Lookman (30), Matteo Ruggeri (52) and El Bilal Touré (90 + 5) extinguished the flickering flame of lost Marseillais, without impact or intensity, without idea or talent.
Media that do not spare OM
The regional daily continues: “how many classes of difference this Thursday evening (yesterday) between Bergamasques and Provençaux, between a playful team and another petrified? Too much, and even enough to never really regret the missed opportunity of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (in tears at the end of the match) in the first leg. On his side The Parisian wrote : “this time, Marseille did not have the flame. Outclassed by Atalanta (3-0), OM saw their European epic come to an abrupt end in the semi-final of the Europa League, Thursday evening (…) In Bergamo, they (OM) were sharply caught by his limits. And there are many: clumsy and without ideas with the ball, they trembled each time they lost the ball. Rather physically fresh on the way out, this time they imploded in front of the Bergamo dry cleaners.”
The Team spoke of a “torture“and players”exceeded on all levels” who have “missed their 1/2 final made up for by their shortcomings”. The sports daily added that it had the impression that Atalanta had numerical superiority and that OM did nothing to live up to this meeting. For its part, 20 Minutes headlined “Marseillais say goodbye to the Europa League after a spanking” before adding: “Jean-Louis Gasset’s men never found the solution against Gasperini’s team and it was already a miracle to go 1-0 at half-time. They finally cracked in the second period to finish with a spanking, 3 goals to 0. The Marseillais cannot have many regrets as they were dominated, apart from never having played. The adventure in the Europa League therefore ends in Bergamo, only a tiny hope remains of securing a qualification for the European Cup via Ligue 1.. We will have to quickly forget this failure and bounce back.
Pub. THE
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