The conflicted history between OM and the Coupe de France for 35 years continues and Marseille was eliminated on Tuesday on its lawn by Lille, qualified on penalties (1-1; 4 tab to 3) for the 8th finals .
By equalizing for OM at the very last second of regulation time, the Brazilian Luis Henrique believed he was the hero of a tremendous reversal of the situation.
But on penalties, his shot was saved by Vito Mannone, Lucas Chevalier’s replacement. And it was the Italian goalkeeper who was the man in this excellent match, since he once again deflected Jonathan Rowe’s shot to give victory to Lille, all of whose shooters hit the mark.
As two years ago against Annecy, Marseille therefore fell at home and on penalties, at the end of a session where Geronimo Rulli, who stopped three penalties out of three since the start of the season and which Roberto De Zerbi left on the bench, was inevitably missed.
The trauma should be less severe than in 2023, especially since OM had a fairly good match, but Marseille’s last success in the event dates back to 1989 and the wait will be prolonged.
Exactly a month ago, in the championship, the first duel between the two teams had already been formidable, tense and uncertain until the end with a late equalizer for the Mastiffs (1-1).
Tuesday, this second clash was again of an excellent level, particularly during a lively first period, which showed that OM, undefeated for seven matches at kick-off, were definitely mastering their game better and better.
But Lille, even sitting a little lower than a month ago, has always been threatening.
– Three goals refused –
The list of chances, all the same, indicates that it was Marseille who generally took control of the match. De Zerbi’s team even scored twice (25th and 38th), but each time Neal Maupay helped himself a little with his hand along the way and the score remained closed.
-Mason Greenwood also had a huge chance in the 36th minute but after a 70-yard run, he lost his one-on-one with Mannone.
On the Lille side, the count at the break only indicated a few shots that were too crushed or too far away, but Bruno Genesio’s team was still fully in the match.
She proved it barely 15 seconds after the resumption of play with a goal scored by Mitchel Bakker, also refused for… a hand, definitely the theme of the start of the evening.
All the same, Lille’s pressing was then more effective and forced OM to take more risks on the restart and to make some technical inaccuracies. Marseille was less dangerous and Lille took advantage of it.
Thomas Meunier thus responded to the excellent call from Jonathan David, who served Hakon Haraldsson in the middle for the opener (1-0, 69th).
OM then had a few possibilities through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (73rd) or Luis Henrique (75th) but seemed generally powerless. In added time, however, the threat became more evident with a shot from Greenwood hitting the post (90+2).
With his right shot at the last second, Luis Henrique then broke out the noise at the Vélodrome. Ten minutes later, his failure and then that of Rowe broke the silence. Undefeated since mid-September, it is Losc who are continuing their journey in the Coupe de France, while OM only have the championship.
stt/chc
