DIRECT. OM – Shakhtar: Marseille returns to the level, follow the match

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DIRECT OM – Shakhtar Marseille returns to the level follow

A week after their draw in Hamburg, OM are playing their European destiny against Shakthar Donetsk in a Europa League return play-off which promises tension and suspense.

21:28 – Clauss misses his cross

Clauss is found in the area on the edge of the goal post on an opening coming from the opposite direction. The Marseille full-back is in perfect control but gets tangled when crossing at the near post where Moumbagna had stood out behind Azarov’s back.

21:27 – Kondogbia from afar

Kondogbia bites into the pressure and steals the ball from Bondarenko’s feet 25 meters away. The Marseille midfielder asks no questions and hits hard with the left. His tense shot is deflected by Riznyk.

21:24 – Aubameyang equalizes for OM (1-1)

In the 24th minute, Aubameyang brought Olympique de Marseille back to the level of Shakhtar Donetsk. 30 m from the opposing goal, Kondogbia causes Bondarenko to lose the ball. Harit takes the ball and throws himself forward. He then shifts to the left in the box Aubameyang who, alone, closes his foot and scores at the near post when Riznyk had anticipated the opposite.

21:22 – Many technical errors

The Marseillais are unable to find solutions at the heart of the game where the Kondogbia-Ounahi-Harit trio is too absent. Merlin tries to refocus his pass and loses the ball due to a technical mistake.

9:20 p.m. – Marseille does not approach

Merlin begins to climb on the left and gives Harit on the wing who must work to successfully control the ball. The Moroccan is pushed back and the Marseillais are forced to retreat. Since the start of the match, they have struggled to approach the opposing area.

21:19 – Bondarenko limps out

Bondarenko is injured following contact with Gigot. He leaves the field limping to the right where he touches his upper thigh, perhaps due to a crutch. The Ukrainians will play a few minutes with one less.

21:17 – Yellow card for Gigot

Gigot compensates for the lack of commitment of his partners with an excess on his part. Already on the verge of a tackle on Zubkov a few minutes earlier, the Marseille captain threw himself with both feet in front to take the ball away from Bondarenko. If he touched the ball first, the harshness of his intervention earned him a yellow card from the referee.

21:13 – Goal for Donetsk and Sudakov (0-1)

Sudakov takes his responsibilities and, at the last moment, opens his right foot to wrong-foot Pau Lopez, who has gone to his right. After 12 minutes of play, OM found themselves trailing Shakhtar Donetsk.

21:11 – Penalty for Shakhtar Donetsk!

Terrible error from Clauss who concedes the penalty in the 10th minute. After Ounahi lost the ball, Bondarenko opened the game in the middle near the central circle for Sudakov. The Ukrainian midfielder gives Eguinaldo in front on the left. The Brazilian is surrounded by two Marseillais and takes advantage of a space to turn around and enter the area where the Olympian full-back mows him down. The referee immediately designates the penalty point.

21:08 – Double save from Pau Lopez

On a long through ball for Zubkov, Meité pushes his head into the axis. At the entrance to the Marseille area, Sikan volleys from the right. His shot flies low to the ground and forces Pau Lopez to relax horizontally. The Spanish goalkeeper quickly gets up and, like a handball goalkeeper, closes the corner to Eguinaldo.

21:06 – Leg in the clouds

Clauss curls his corner, taken from the right, and deposits it at the far post at the corner of 6 meters. Free from any marking, Gigot rushes but fails to dominate the ball, which bounces off the top of his head and goes wide.

21:04 – Clauss wins a corner

Clauss sends Moumbagna deep to the right. The Cameroonian makes the effort and finds his full-back whose center is diverted for a corner.

21:02 – Shake the head

Sudakov takes care of curling the corner from the left. The trajectory is inward but at 6 meters, Meité places his head to clear his camp.

21:01 – Eguinaldo already dangerous

Zubkov dezones and comes to provide support on the left where Eguinaldo combines with him. On the left of the area near the corner, the Ukrainian delivers from the outside of the left into the Brazilian’s race. In the zone of truth, he opens his right foot but Gigot is well positioned and puts himself on the trajectory to deflect for a corner.

9:00 p.m. – Start of the match

The Marseillais kick off the Europa League return play-off against the Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk.

20:57 – Entry of both teams

The players from Olympique de Marseille and Shakhtar Donetsk entered the pitch of a full Vélodrome and already rumbling with fervor. Everything is there for a great match on the occasion of this Europa League return play-off.

20:55 – Fifteen years later

Olympique de Marseille has unpleasant memories, to say the least, of its previous opposition to Shakhtar Donetsk. In April 2009, the Marseillais were barred from reaching the semi-finals of what was still called the UEFA Cup. On the first leg in Ukraine, Mandanda, Niang and others lost by conceding goals from Hübschman and Jadson (0-2), without managing to take advantage of Ischenko’s expulsion at the end of the match (81st). The return, a week later, to the Vélodrome was hardly a success, Fernandinho destroying Marseille’s hopes in the 29th minute. Ben Arfa equalized before the break but in stoppage time, Adriano sealed the fate of the double confrontation (1-2).

20:50 – Dam specialist

Shakhtar Donetsk have developed a real science of Europa League play-offs in recent years. Indeed, the Ukrainians have reached the milestone in their last three appearances at this stage of the competition. Last season, they had difficulty getting out of Rennes. In February 2021, it was simpler since they dominated Maccabi Tel-Aviv both in the first leg (2-0) and the return leg (1-0). The previous year, the Dombass club had eliminated Benfica Lisbon at the same stage, winning at home in the first leg (2-1) before drawing in Portugal (3-3). His last failure in the play-offs dates back to 2019 when he came up against Eintracht Frankfurt (2-2, 1-4).

20:45 – Marseille passes almost all the time

Marseille have qualified 14 times out of 15 after drawing away in the first leg in UEFA competition, most recently against Slovenian club Domžale in the 2017/18 Europa League qualifying play-off ( 1-1 away, 3-0 at home). Their only elimination came against Benfica in the round of 16 of the 2009/10 Europa League (1-1 away, 1-2 at home).

20:40 – No good omen for Shakhtar?

The Ukrainian club have never qualified after a 2-2 home first-leg draw in their four previous attempts, the most recent coming in a 2018/19 Europa League round of 16 tie. against Eintracht Frankfurt (1-4 away).

20:35 – Gigot: “It needs to click”

Jean-Louis Gasset, ordered to leave his post as coach of Cote d’Ivoire last January at the end of the group stage of the CAN, only had two training sessions to take charge of his squad. Too little to hope to imprint a new style on his team. Also, the 70-year-old coach decided to emphasize the psychological aspect. “There needs to be awareness”, he told the press. A speech heard and taken up by Marseille captain Samuel Gigot. “You have to have a mental trigger and say to yourself that now it’s over, there’s nothing more happening”assumes the defender, aware that the responsibility is above all that of the players.

20:30 – Hole defenses

Olympique de Marseille have conceded at least one goal in 10 of their last 11 matches, in all competitions. In total, Pau Lopez and his partners have conceded 13 goals over this period, and have only obtained three victories, including only one in 2024.

For its part, Shakhtar Donetsk gives little more guarantee since the Ukrainian club has conceded at least one goal in its last seven away matches in Europa League.

20:25 – OM still can’t do it

Since the start of 2024, Olympique de Marseille has progressed slowly and has only posted one victory in 8 matches played, in the 32nd final of the Coupe de France on the pitch of US Thionville Luisitanos (1 -0), for four draws and one defeat (0-1 in Lyon, editor’s note). Last weekend, OM poorly prepared for Shakhtar’s reception by losing in Brest (0-1). A defeat which cost Gennaro Gattuso his job.

20:20 – A new one on the bench

Genaro Gattuso will not take his place on the Vélodrome bench for this return jump-off. After the defeat in Ligue 1 at Brest (0-1), the Italian coach was fired by Marseille management and replaced by Jean-Louis Gasset. Resigning from his position as coach of the Ivory Coast at the end of the CAN group stage, the septuagenarian returns to a bench in France for the first time since 2021 and the end of his adventure with the Girondins de Bordeaux. This is already the fourth coach to sit on the Olympian bench this season.

20:18 – Pau Lopez holder, OM composition

Jean-Louis Gasset’s first eleven was expected and he will be without Jordan Veretout. The Marseille midfielder is still a little short to start and is on the bench. The Marseille midfield is unchanged from the Europa League play-off with Harit, Ounahi and Kondogbia. Return to the 5-man defense with Clauss and Merlin to liven up the right and left lanes, supervising the central trio formed by Meité, Gigot and Mbemba. Up front, Moumbagna and Aubameyang have an additional chance to refine their understanding. Finally, note the presence of Pau Lopez. Uncertain due to calf pain and absent from training yesterday, the Spanish goalkeeper holds his place well for this return play-off.



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