OM eliminates Benfica on penalties and joins Atalanta Bergamo in the semi-finals

Long frustrated by Benfica on Thursday, the Marseillais waited for the penalty shootout to validate their ticket for the last four of the Europa League (1-0, 4-2 tab), where they will face Atalanta Bergamo.

A crazy, intense European evening, before at least another: as it usually does for this kind of occasion, the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille was sublime, Thursday April 18, in the quarter-final return of the League Europa, during OM’s victory on penalties against Benfica (1-0, 4-2 tab). A volcanic atmosphere which gave wings to Jean-Louis Gasset’s players, long imprecise, but finally delivered by Luis Henrique during the penalty shootout.

Before that, Faris Moumbagna had kept the flame alive, scoring the goal of hope in the 79th minute after a long, fruitless domination of the Marseillais. At 1-0, OM were not qualified, but no longer eliminated either.

All that remained was to finish the job in overtime to reach the fourth Europa League semi-final in the history of the Marseille club, the first since 2018, but we had to wait for the penalty shootout, where Angel Di Maria and Antonio Silva missed, while all the Marseille shooters scored. OM will challenge Atalanta Bergamo, defeaters of Liverpool, on May 2 and 9.

The end of the curse

OM and the penalties, however, are a story of disenchantment, with recent traumas still in everyone’s minds against Panathinaikos or Annecy. But the Marseille songs blew loudly on Thursday evening and took these bad memories far from the Marseille city. Even Angel Di Maria, scorer in the first leg and who so often shone against Marseille with PSG, gave up. The Argentine world champion sent his attempt – the first of the series – onto Pau Lopez’s post.

Starting on the right side of all the Portuguese attempts, the Spaniard logically ended up rejecting one: the fourth, signed Antonio Silva. While OM performed flawlessly, Luis Henrique came forward to put on the costume of the unexpected hero of the evening and make the Vélodrome exult like never before, deafening throughout the session. At the tip of the Brazilian’s foot: a fourth Europa League semi-final for OM, the first since 2018.

An evening that the Olympians extended by remaining a good quarter of an hour on the pitch, the time for a deserved double lap of honor, after a fierce fight of more than 120 minutes which caused insurmountable cramps for Jordan Veretout.

Because, if OM had to wait for the penalties, it was not for lack of having done everything well before that. With a one-goal handicap at the start, the Olympians had not planned to crash, but, as expected, took control of the entry events.

Meet in Bergamo

Dominant but imprecise during the first act, like Iliman Ndiaye (8th), Chancel Mbemba (16th) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (24th, 44th), the Marseillais did not convert their highlights. Opposite, cautious, Benfica was waiting for a counterattack to attack, but the Olympian defense was much tighter than on the first leg.

In line with their public, OM spent the second after returning from the locker room. The clear chances multiplied in front of Anatoliy Troubine’s cage, notably imperial against Amine Harit (60th) and Geoffrey Kondogbia (69th).

Enough to give ideas to Pau Lopez, immense against Angel Di Maria (58th), before disgusting him again during overtime (98th), snatched by Faris Moumbagna. Because even if OM faltered for a long time in the last gesture, the Cameroonian, receiving a cross from Aubameyang, ended up opening the scoring with a header stuck between the legs of the Ukrainian goalkeeper (1-0, 79th ).

Standing up, the Vélodrome let its joy burst forth, before gritting its teeth, like its players, during an extra time which seemed interminable. Exhausted, the Phocaeans came close to being penalized on a header from Di Maria (98th), but also drunkenness on a lob from Aubameyang (108th). The emotional elevator continued until the penalty shootout, before stopping in seventh heaven for OM, with the deliverance offered by Luis Henrique. And a place in the last four of the Europa League, against Atalanta Bergamo, in two weeks.