At the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia stadium in Bergamo,
And now the entire weight of French football on the European scene now rests on Olympique de Marseille, no thanks Paris. After the new elimination of PSG, Tuesday evening against Dortmund (1-0), only the Marseillais remain to seek a place in the final of the European Cup, that of the Europa League, against Atalanta Bergamo this Thursday evening (9 p.m.).
But no need to talk about PSG to motivate Jean-Louis Gasset and his group: “I have never played a semi-final of anything, a final even less. At my age, I think you can dream.” That said, dreaming will not be enough against the 6th in Serie A, still in the race to secure a qualifying place for the Champions League, a Europa League final, and a title in the Italian Cup, against Juventus Turin.
“THE match that must be achieved”
Especially after the first leg draw last Thursday (1-1). “This is THE match that we must succeed in. Everyone is aware of it, my players know that, perhaps, they will never again have the opportunity to play a semi-final, or even a final,” warned the Marseille coach. And for that, Gasset has the ingredients. Much more basic than the somewhat lofty concepts of his counterpart Luis Enrique: “The state of mind will be essential, that of the first leg will not be enough. We will focus on the fight, on the starting duels, we have to be ready. Let us defend as well as we did on the first leg, adding that little extra of efficiency.” Which goes to show that football can also be simple, at least in intention.
And for the first time since his arrival on the OM bench in mid-February, Jean-Louis Gasset will finally be able to count on practically all of his players. With the exception of Valentin Rongier, still injured. “We stepped up the physical level of some to arrive in high-level form. The last few weeks have been difficult to be physically ready, we are good now,” he added. Even more so with a full week of rest, thank you to the LFP, unlike Bergamo who had to defeat Salernitana (1-2) on Monday evening.
Please the supporters after a difficult season
In the first leg, OM took 15 minutes to get into their match, before looking Bergamo eye to eye, even dominating them, despite Aubameyang far from being as decisive as in the last matches of the OM. “He is an exceptional player and a fantastic teammate with enormous experience. We don’t blame him for the missed opportunity in the first leg, he showed us what he is capable of. He scored goals which did us good. If he has a chance [ce jeudi soir], he will put it at the bottom. We have confidence in him to play the perfect match,” encouraged Jordan Veretout. Hoping that he is not inspired by Mbappé’s match on Tuesday evening.
But unlike last week in Marseille, Aubameyang and his teammates will only be able to count on 750 supporters to push them, due to work at the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia stadium. “The more supporters we have with us, the happier we are. The others will be on their sofas and will also push us. We know it’s going to be hot, we’ve prepared for that, we’re going to try to please them,” the OM coach promised them. Which would be a nice gift for the supporters after a season far from being successful, and a nice snub to PSG’s billions.