At the twilight of a failed season in the league, Olympique de Marseille was still clinging to its wild European hope. After the draw in the semi-final first leg of the Europa League (1-1), the Phocaeans traveled to Atalanta Bergamo on Thursday May 9. But the miracle did not take place at the Gewiss Stadium, for the Phocaeans unable to shine far from the Vélodrome (0-3). They will not play a fourth Europa League final, after those lost in 1999, 2004 and 2018.
Marseille upgraded
Attack, defense, intensity, technical accuracy. In all areas, OM did not compete with Atalanta who stifled them with their pressing and sharp attacks from the first to the last minute. Unlike the first leg where the Olympians created numerous chances, Jean-Louis Gasset’s men appeared harmless, only sending shivers through the Gewiss Stadium following a missed lob by Iliman Ndiaye. The Marseillais finished with two attempts on target: long free kicks from Jordan Veretout. The Bergamasques, putting the Marseille defense to torture with each percussion, shot 13 times only in the first act at the end of which OM could consider themselves lucky to be only trailing by one goal. The final score of 3-0 is implacably logical given the difference in level of the two teams on Thursday.
OM still in difficulty away from home
Four victories away from home in all competitions in 25 trips, Marseille’s record away from the Vélodrome is very meager this season. Winners only in Metz against Thionville in the Coupe de France, in Lorient and Clermont in Ligue 1 and in Athens in the Europa League, the Olympians did not reverse the trend in Bergamo, lacking solutions. OM have five defeats in their last six away games, and they have two away games left in Ligue 1 to finish the season. “At the Vélodrome we are tigers and outside we are cats”, summarized Jean-Louis Gasset at the microphone of Canal +.
Hooking Europe through the championship
Marseille will have to quickly get their heads back on track because this elimination destroys their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League by winning the Europa League. The specter of a 2024-2025 season without European competition for OM increasingly threatens the residents of the Vélodrome. With a match late, but five points behind the sixth directly qualifying place, the Olympians must already hold on to seventh place, which will send a club to the Europa Conference League if Paris beats Lyon in the Coupe de France final. There are three games left for the Phocaeans to end a season that will not be remembered, at least not positively.
