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OM can still believe in their European final: at the height of the event, the Marseillais dominated Atalanta Bergamo on Thursday in the semi-final first leg of the Europa League but could not do better than a draw 1 -1, which leaves them with some regrets and a lot of hope.
When the final whistle blew, the impression was mixed among the players, whose faces betrayed a certain disappointment at not having made the difference at home. But if they had any doubts, the applause and chants from the Vélodrome showed them that they had lived up to expectations.
OM indeed responded to the announced intensity of Atalanta, and even a little beyond, carried by 65,000 spectators who liked what they saw and believed until the end in the possible victory.
In the end, OM simply lacked a bit of accuracy or success, notably on two huge chances from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Azzedine Ounahi, to arrive in Bergamo with a slight lead in the score in a week’s time. .
With the Ismaïla Sarr-Aubameyang duo lined up at the forefront, Jean-Louis Gasset hoped to pose a double threat to the Italians in depth. The idea brought some ammunition but, at first, the Marseillais probably abused these long balls, which were often too imprecise.
Mbemba revives OM
Above all, after a committed and choppy start to the game, OM forgot this roughness when defending the first real Italian incursion. Without much opposition, Teun Koopmeiners easily found Gianluca Scamacca, himself very lonely in the Marseille area, and the serial scorer of the “Dea” deceived Pau Lopez without difficulty (1-0, 11th).
But in an atmosphere also worthy of the event, Marseille quickly moved forward and the rest of the first period showed that this semi-final was open and that OM’s dreams of a final were not were not absurd.
Former Marseillais Sead Kolasinac first narrowly saved in front of Sarr, injuring himself in the process, then Chancel Mbemba, whose left knee has been grinding for a month, equalized with a surprising curling shot from the right (1-1, 20th).
Until the break, it was Marseille who clearly took the upper hand, with several interesting but wasteful situations, until the painful action of the 42nd minute, when Aubameyang wasted a gigantic 2-1 opportunity at the end a counter perfectly led by Jordan Veretout and Amine Harit.
Still alive
The Gabonese is undoubtedly the one who led OM to the semi-final and no one will blame him, especially as he once again contributed to his team’s good second half.
But the second huge opportunity for victory for OM did not come from him but from Ounahi, who came on shortly before and who delivered an almost perfect strike in the 73rd minute. Almost because it crashed into the corner of Juan Musso’s goal rather than into the back of his net.
Supported by a public reconciled with a group of players who exasperated them so much this season, OM then sought victory until the end, without finding it but without being really threatened either.
In a week in Bergamo, Atalanta will undoubtedly do a little more than at the Vélodrome, but when it comes time to attack the return match, OM are therefore still alive in this European Cup which gave them joy in the heart of a grim season.
It can still end in apotheosis on May 22 in Dublin and Marseille and Jean-Louis Gasset in any case have merit in still being in the race for a place in the European Cup final. There are certain evenings in October or January when we wouldn’t have bet big on that.
