They absolutely needed a win. They also thought they had it, but as in their two previous Champions League campaigns, the players of Olympique de Marseille saw their adventure come to an end in the group stage. In their Vélodrome stadium, OM were beaten by Tottenham (1-2) on Tuesday 1 November.
After having started the match perfectly, the Marseillais were knocked down in the second act. Head down, obsessed with victory, they were punished at the last second by a counter goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (90th + 4), which eliminated them from all European competition. The outcome is cruel because Frankfurt’s victory against Sporting (2-1), in the other match of the group, would have allowed them to play in the Europa League in the event of a draw.
In addition to this error which is expensive at the end of the meeting, Marseille will be able to harbor big regrets. Twice, the match almost turned in their favor in the last ten minutes, Ivan Perisic intervening on the strike of Alexis Sanchez (83rd), and Sead Kolasinac narrowly missing the target, with a header from close range (87th). We will especially remember that the meeting changed when Tottenham decided to come out of its torpor, after a first period deliberately spent defending in front of its own surface, knowing that it was qualified in the event of a draw.
4 – Marseille on its last 3 appearances in the Champions League:
2013/14: 4th
2020/21: 4th
2022/23: 4thCruel. #OMTOT pic.twitter.com/6sFFMAinj1
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 1, 2022
Chancel Mbemba’s opener from a corner, in added time of the first period (45th + 2), woke up Antonio Conte’s men, who then attempted their first shot after 52 minutes of play (45th +7). Upon returning from the locker room, we did not find this conquering team, which confiscated the ball. As if the opener had made her realize that she could lose big and fearing a cruel outcome, the latter happened.
“It’s a huge disappointment, we can only blame ourselves. We pushed to score a second goal, but we should have kept it 1-1. There was a lack of communication and experience at the end of the match. We can only blame ourselves. It’s quite simply a catastrophic result.”recognized Mattéo Guendouzi at the microphone of Canal +.
For the third consecutive campaign in C1, after 2013-2014 and 2020-2021, Olympique de Marseille finished last in their group. It will be necessary to add at least one more year to the eleven which have passed since the last appearance of the Marseille club in the round of 16 of the most prestigious European football competition (2011-2012).