At the twilight of a failed season in the league, Olympique de Marseille is still clinging to its wild European hope. After the draw in the semi-final first leg of the Europa League (1-1), the Phocaeans travel to Atalanta Bergamo on Thursday May 9. If OM were able to harbor regrets after their successful but insufficient performance in the first leg, we should not ask any questions at the Gewiss Stadium: an obligatory victory to hope to play a fourth Europa League final, after those lost in 1999, 2004 and 2018.
Italy kicks them
Between OM and Italy, it’s a story rather in favor of the Phocaeans. If everyone remembers the Champions League final won against AC Milan in 1993, this is just one of the great European evenings for Marseillais against transalpine clubs. With a figure to demonstrate it: in six double-headers against local clubs, OM have qualified five times. Moreover, validating your ticket for a C3 final in an Italian stadium after a draw in the first leg, Marseille has already done it: it was in 1999, on the Bologna pitch.
A week of rest for OM
Thanks to a new arrangement of its Ligue 1 calendar, Olympique de Marseille approaches this crucial meeting with a week of recovery in its legs, since it did not play in Ligue 1 last weekend. Which can’t do any harm to a squad that has long been reduced by injuries in recent weeks, but is finally complete, apart from the prolonged absence of Valentin Rongier. Especially since opposite, Atalanta Bergamo played Monday in the championship, with a complicated success on the pitch of Salernitana (2-1). This week of recovery had already benefited the Marseillais in the quarter-finals. OM then won on penalties against Benfica Lisbon at the end of the night.
The theorem of halves
While Olympique de Marseille is playing the fourth Europa League semi-final in its history, the Marseille club can rely on a flattering statistic: in fact, Marseille has never been eliminated at this stage of the competition. In 1999, after a draw at the Vélodrome, OM eliminated Bologna on the return leg, thanks to the away goal rule (1-1). In 2004, after a draw at Newcastle (0-0), Didier Drogba’s teammates won 2-0 on the return leg. Finally, in 2018, after a 2-0 first leg success, defender Rolando liberated OM in overtime on the pitch at Red Bull Salzburg (1-2). Major downside: each time, Marseille lost the final that followed…