The season could not have started worse for Olympique de Marseille. For their first official outing, OM lost 1-0 on the lawn of Panathinaikos, Wednesday, in the third round of qualifying for the Champions League. A worrying result before an already decisive return match for the Marseillais and (a little) the UEFA index.
Little dangerous against an opponent who had the monopoly of the ball but not necessarily more clear chances, Marcelino’s men conceded the fatal goal on the only shot on target from the Greeks, the result of a magnificent collective action. OM cannot say the same. Goalkeeper Pau Lopez was very lucid in the mixed zone about his team’s poor performance with the ball.
“Starting like that is tough,” he said. But we have to be realistic, there are 90 minutes left at the Vélodrome. We defended very well today, except on the action of the goal where they played well. But he missed something offensively. We didn’t have enough of the ball today. We made a few counterattacks but that’s not enough. »
“Physically not 100%”
Azzedine Ounahi for his part urges patience, the team is still in the running-in process, between changing coaches, systems and the arrival of new elements. “It’s a new scheme, physically we are not yet 100%. It was a tough match but we will continue to work and we will do it on the return. […] It’s up to us to find the links between us, it will be done with work. It’s up to us to show that we are strong. Otherwise, it will be a one-way ticket to the Europa League.