Struggling in Ligue 1, Olympique de Marseille enters the Europa League play-offs against Shakhtar Dontesk without guidance and the need to get back on track. Follow the meeting live on linternaute.com.
18:58 – Leg next door
Following Merlin’s deflected shot, the ball goes to the right and reaches Kondogbia. From the left, the Marseille midfielder rolls in a well-worked cross that Gigot only manages to touch with the top of his head.
18:57 – No penalty for OM
At the end of a corner, Merlin inherits the ball at the left corner of the area. The former FC Nantes player swings his left and sees his shot deflected by a Ukrainian as he turns around. He calls for the penalty but the referee doesn’t flinch.
18:55 – Into the void
Konoplya moves forward from his right wing. He sees Gigot’s rise in his direction and slides his pass behind the Marseille captain’s back. Sikan was waiting for the ball at his feet and therefore did not follow up. Pau Lopez can restart.
18:54 – Corner pushed back
After having obtained the corner himself, Merlin takes care of placing it in the area with his left foot. The ball is returned by a Ukrainian player to the near post.
18:53 – The Marseille movement stopped
On the left side, Aubameyang has space and seeks to rely on Moumbagna in the center in the area. The Cameroonian’s delivery is imperfect and Marseille’s action goes no further.
18:51 – Zubkov in the back
Matvilenko plays diagonally and sends the ball into the path of Zubkov on the right. The winger went behind Merlin’s back but his back cross was intercepted by Balerdi. The Marseillais clears his camp.
18:47 – Marseille is scared
First big scare on the Marseille goal. On the restart, Pau Lopez opts for a short pass in front of him to Kondogbia. The Marseille midfielder is chased to the edge of the area and tackles to avoid losing the ball. Despite everything, he gives the ball back to Zubkov who arrives launched and rolls in with the left. The Marseille goalkeeper slams above his crossbar.
18:47 – Adjustment for OM
After two minutes of letting the ball slip through the Ukrainian feet, we can observe that the Marseille system is oriented towards a 4-3-3 with the Balerdi-Gigot duo in the axis and Clauss on the right. Luis Henrique will play higher up alongside Moumbagna and Aubameyang.
18:45 – Kick-off in Hamburg
The players of Shakhtar Donetsk launch the Europa League play-off against Olympique de Marseille.
18:42 – Entrance of both teams
Players from Shakthar Donetsk and Olympique de Marseille entered the pitch at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg to play their Europa League play-off first leg.
18:17 – The composition of Shakhtar Donetsk
For the reception of OM, the Ukrainian team approaches the jump-off in 4-1-4-1 with Sikan alone in front, supported by a line of four formed by Eguinaldo, Sudakov, Bondarenko and Zubkov. Captain Stepanenko will be responsible for acting as a link between midfield and defense. In the axis, Matvilenko and Bondar are associated with Azarov on the left and Konoplya on the right in the corridors.
18:09 – 5 behind, the composition of OM
For the first leg against Shakhtar Donetsk, Genaro Gattuso opted for a cautious formation with a central trio made up of captain Gigot supervised by Balerdi and Clauss. The corridors will be occupied by Merlin on the left and Luis Henrique on the right. In the middle, Kondogbia is very present, associated with Harit and Ounahi. In front, Aubameyang and Moumbagna will form the pair.
17:35 – 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).
17:30 – OM knows how to score
Having been out of victory for almost two months, Olympique de Marseille can console themselves with the fact that they manage to find the fault in their opponent. Indeed, in their last nine matches, the Marseillais have only remained silent in Lyon (0-1). The other side of the coin is that over the same period, they have also conceded at least one goal eight times.
17:20 – More French people
Shakhtar Donetsk is starting to get used to facing a French club in the Europa League play-off. Last season, the Ukrainians crossed paths with Rennes. After winning in the first leg (2-1), they were dragged into overtime by the Bretons. Trailing 0-2, they snatched penalties in the final moments thanks to an own goal from Belocian before finally qualifying for the round of 16 (3-3 in the two matches, 5 tab 4).
17:15 – Like in 2018?
This is the first time since 2018 that Olympique Marseille has reached the knockout stage of the Europa League. Six years ago, the Marseille club had already gone through the play-offs and eliminated Sporting Braga (3-0 at home and 0-1 in Portugal, editor’s note). Behind, he had an epic journey to the final, failing against Atlético de Madrid (0-3).
17:10 – Resumption
If OM is struggling to find the right fuel in Ligue 1, the state of form of Shakhtar Donetsk is an unknown factor. Indeed, the Ukrainian club has not played since December 8 and is returning to competition during this Europa League play-off first leg. In December, the Ukrainian club ended the year 2023 with two successes in the league but also a heavy setback in Champions League in Porto (3-5).
17:05 – An OM in slow motion
Since the start of 2024, Olympique de Marseille has progressed slowly and has only posted one victory in 6 matches played, in the 32nd final of the Coupe de France on the lawn of US Thionville Luisitanos (1 -0), for four draws and one defeat (0-1 in Lyon, editor’s note).
17:00 – A bad memory
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).
16:55 – Act III
This is the third time that Shakhtar Donetsk and Olympique de Marseille have met on the European scene. The previous two turned out in favor of the Ukrainians.
16:50 – A Belga on the whistle
The match will be refereed by Belgian Erik Lambrechts. He will be assisted by his compatriots Mr. Jo de Weirdt and Mr. Kevin Monteny. Another Belgian Mr. Nathan Verboomen will officiate as 4th referee. Video refereeing will be provided by the Dutch-Belgian pair Dennis Higler-Jan Boterberg.
16:45 –
Good evening everyone and welcome to follow this Europa League play-off first leg. Second in its group, Olympique de Marseille travels to Hamburg in Germany to face the Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk, who were dropped from the Champions League.