Marseille concedes a frustrating draw against Atalanta Bergamo in the first leg of the semi-final at the Vélodrome

Quickly trailing, the Marseillais quickly equalized but then could not avoid a draw (1-1), despite their clear domination on Thursday against Atalanta Bergamo.

The gods were not Marseillais, but in favor of Atalanta, Thursday May 2, in the semi-final first leg of the Europa League. Authors of a successful performance, but too clumsy in front of goal, the Olympians could not do better than a draw against Atalanta Bergamo (1-1), on their lawn, despite a gala Vélodrome.

Faced with a team that defends one-on-one all over the field, OM expected an intense fight. From the first minutes, the Marseillais were not disappointed. Accompanied by 3,000 fans, Atalanta Bergamo started their match on the ground, with crazy intensity. But, carried by an equally transported Vélodrome, the Olympians responded, in a strong and spectacular first act. In the absence of a multitude of opportunities, the public was treated to countless highly contested duels.

The fight, and the regrets

In the midst of this struggle at all levels, the nets still shook twice. Uninspired, Atalanta Bergamo found the fault on their first opportunity, while Amir Murillo had forgotten Gianluca Scamacca behind his back, at the entrance to the area. The Italian scorer did not tremble to adjust Pau Lopez (0-1, 11th). With their backs against the wall, OM took a few minutes to absorb the blow, before waking up thanks to one of their experienced men: Chancel Mbemba. At the end of a two-played corner, the Congolese defender delivered a superb shot with the flat of his foot on the inside of the post (1-1, 20th).

Euphoric, the Vélodrome then stood up as one man on a counter launched by Veretout, relayed by Harit and concluded by Aubameyang. The 64,000 spectators all expected to see the Gabonese succeed in this face-off but, to everyone’s surprise, his shot was too cross (42nd). It is therefore with regrets that OM returned to the locker room. And the rest was no better for Marseille. It was even with even greater regrets that the Marseillais ended the evening.

Meet in Bergamo

Certainly, Jean-Louis Gasset’s men did not lose on Thursday. But their superiority in the second half was such that the final score can only fuel frustration. Faced with Atalanta Bergamo who gradually disappeared from the match, the Phocaeans packed the game and multiplied the opportunities. But neither Aubameyang (47th, 53rd), nor Kondogbia (58th), nor Harit (67th) adjusted the sights, while Azzedine Ounahi saw his shot die on the opposing square (73rd). Worse still: Ismaïla Sarr was denied a goal for an offside by Luis Henrique at the start of the action (64th).

Frustrated, the Marseillais will be able to console themselves by saying that the match could have gone the other way if Atalanta had better negotiated its few counterattacks, or if Miranchuk’s powerful strike at the end of the match had been a few centimeters further to the left (90th). But, at the time of the mid-term assessment, it is the Olympians who can bite their fingers. Living up to the event, and its audience, Olympique de Marseille did everything well, except the main thing: scoring. Which will absolutely be necessary to do in Bergamo, next Thursday, to hope to see Dublin, venue of the final of this Europa League.