At the end of a completely crazy match, Olympique de Marseille snatched victory at the end of added time against Ajax Amsterdam, retained the lead of their group and ensured their qualification for the knockout phase of the Europa League .
23:40 – Good night
Thank you everyone for following this meeting between Olympique de Marseille and Ajax Amsterdam. See you this weekend for new competitions on linternaute.com.
23:30 – Madness and excitement, the match summary
This last action alone condenses everything that this encounter at the borders of the irrational was. The two teams had just entered added time when Aubameyang burst down the left and delivered a bell-shaped cross, far too high to be taken by a partner and whose trajectory destined it for a goal clearance. However, without anyone understanding why, Ramaj misjudged the situation and tried to grab the ball which slipped from his hands. Launched, Sarr found himself in the right place and before he could take advantage of it, he was hit by the Ajax goalkeeper trying to catch his ball. The referee did not tremble and immediately pointed to the penalty point.
As at the start of the match, already following a foul in the area caused by the Senegalese, Aubameyang challenged Ramaj. Forgetting the context, the expectations, the Gabonese stared at the goalkeeper until the last moment and finally opened his right foot to catch him on the wrong foot. The Vélodrome caught fire and with it all of Marseille heaved a sigh of relief. This time, OM would not let themselves be joined, firmly holding on to their victory and their qualification.
Because the Marseille club will have made their task very complicated at home. However, everything had started ideally. Gattuso’s men had promised to show character and entered the meeting with good intentions. Intensity and races which led to a first penalty, therefore caused by Sarr, which when it was well used, did very poorly with its speed and acceleration than with its technical precision. Whistled before kick-off, Aubameyang was responsible for opening the score coolly from the inside of the right. The Marseille supporters began to hope for a controlled meeting where theirs could take place. Their hopes only lasted 23 seconds, time for Ajax to engage and for Brobbey to leave Sarr, not really in his role, and deceive Pau Lopez following a nice delivery from Berghuis.
Ajax then took control of the tempo and imposed their possession sequences but it was OM who decided the explosions. From a corner, Mbemba escaped Rensch and perfectly uncrossed his head to put the ball out of Ramaj’s reach. Then repeated again. Two minutes passed and Brobbey, again, slipped behind a Gigot, sucked in by Bergwijn and lost in his position, eliminated Clauss, who had come to catch the ball, before signing a double which froze the Vélodrome. Despite its offensive drive, Marseille paid dearly for its defensive errors, punished by the technical skill of van’t Schip’s men.
However, like the player that Gattuso was, the Marseillais did not give up and upon returning from the locker room, Aubameyang lit up the evening with a perfect acrobatic return to catapult Harit’s cross into the Dutch net. We said the matter was over when a quarter of an hour later, Berghuis threw himself with both feet off the ground to mow down Correa and collected a yellow, soon transformed into red after watching the replays. However, OM stopped playing and allowed themselves to be drawn into a false rhythm, until being trapped by the new entrants, Hlynsson outflanking Lodi before crossing and finding Akpom at the far post, who with a diving header, in Sarr’s back still having to compensate, equalized. Shock at the Vélodrome who used whistles to mark their dissatisfaction with the lack of collective and technical mastery of their players.
Three times in front, three times back, OM couldn’t accept that and it was when they had almost given up that the unthinkable happened at the end of a match marked by the seal of irrationality. A result which will not be able to hide for long the lack of control over the solidity of Gattuso’s squad. What does it matter for tonight. Winner, still leader of group B and master of his destiny, here is OM qualified, between madness and excitement.
23:15 – A last hope for Ajax
Beaten to the wire by Olympique de Marseille, Ajax Amsterdam said goodbye to its dreams of playing in the final stages of the Europa League. However, the Dutch are not yet completely eliminated from the European Cups. Thanks to the defeat of AEK Athens, they will have the opportunity to seek a place in the Europa Conference League. It will be next December 14 at home against the Greeks.
23:05 – Marseille offers itself a final
Thanks to its victory against Ajax Amsterdam, Olympique de Marseille qualified for the knockout stage of the Europa League. In two weeks, on December 14, he will travel to Brighton to finish top of Group B, which would guarantee him a place in the round of 16 of the competition, rather than the play-offs. For that, a draw will be enough, since OM have a one point lead over the English.
22:55 – OM wins on the wire and qualifies
Saved by a penalty as saving as it was unexpected from Aubameyang, author of a hat-trick, Olympique de Marseille snatched victory in added time against Ajax Amsterdam. Far from being sovereign, the Marseillais displayed defensive shortcomings and often suffered but knew how to race in the lead and never give up to finally win in a chaotic match.
⏱ 90+6′ | #OMAJA 4️⃣-3️⃣
OM ????’???????????????????????? at the end of a match full of twists and turns thanks to a hat-trick of@Auba and a goal of @mbemba22 ⚽️
Our Olympians ?????????????????????????????????? their qualification and will play for first place in the group at Brigthon ???? pic.twitter.com/IItehdMtDu
— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) November 30, 2023
22:54 – Yellow card for Hato
Sarr continues to hurt with his runs and his speed. This time, it’s Hato who throws himself to stop him and collects a yellow.
22:53 – Sarr stumbles on Ramaj
Launched to the right, Sarr hits the surface and from an impossible angle tries his luck from the right to slip the ball between the post and Ramaj’s leg but the opposing goalkeeper closes his angle at the last moment. The corner does nothing afterwards.
22:52 – Double change
In the 94th minute, the two coaches continue their coaching with the Ajax side, the exit of Tahirovic for Salah-Eddine, and the OM side, that of Aubameyang, applauded, for Meité.
22:49 – Hat-trick for Aubameyang (4-3)
With the same calm as at the start of the match, staring at Ramaj, Aubameyang opens his foot at the last moment to wrong-foot the opposing goalkeeper and ignite the Vélodrome. This time victory should no longer escape OM.
22:48 – Penalty for OM!
On a completely missed cross from Aubameyang from the left side, Ramaj misjudges the trajectory and wants to grab the ball. The Ajax goalkeeper misses, releases and sees Sarr burst. He hits him and concedes a penalty in the 91st minute.
22:47 – Additional time: 6 minutes
There will be six minutes of added time in this second half between Olympique de Marseille and Ajax Amsterdam.
22:44 – Ounahi too shy
On the right side, Clauss plays the detonators. He gives it laterally to Ounahi who forgets to return the courtesy to his full-back who went into the area, and chooses a curling shot that is too gentle to worry Ramaj.
22:43 – Triple change for OM
In the 87th minute, Gattuso made his three new changes with the exits of Veretout, Lodi and Harit, for the entries of Vitinha, Murillo and Ounahi.
22:41 – Broddey close to hat-trick
A chill passed through the Vélodrome. On the right, Gaaei multiplies the climbs and gets rid of Lodi to curl a strong cross in front of the goal. Brobbey throws himself but misses the ball by a whisker.
22:40 – Marseille imprecision
On the right side, Clauss has a boulevard in front of him and makes the call. Sarr saw it and wanted to give it to him but his outside right was imprecise and went straight into touch.
22:36 – Akpom equalizes for Ajax (3-3)
Following a poorly returned cross by Kondogbia, Hlynsson overflows to the right and curls a superb cross to the far post where Akpom, just coming on and in a duel with Sarr, throws himself and scores with a diving header in the 79th minute.
22:35 – Double change for Ajax
In the 76th minute, van’t Schip began to launch his last offensive forces to force destiny and if possible reverse the match. The Ajax Amsterdam technician calls Taylor and Sosa back on the bench to send Akpom and Martha.
22:33 – Yellow card against Hlynsson
Hlynsson is late and rushes to take the ball away from Veretout but catches the former AS Roma’s ankle. Yellow card for the Ajax Amsterdam player.
22:32 – Hato in good timing
The Marseillais try to emerge from their offensive torpor with Clauss and Sarr but on the handover of the first for the second at 25 meters, Hato tackles at the right time and interrupts the Marseille offensive.
22:30 – Bad cross from Aubameyang
Ndiaye’s pressing pays off and Aubameyang is launched on the right in a winger position. The double scorer of the evening wants to give Harit in the area but his ball is not worked well.
22:29 – Funny rhythm
Since the expulsion of Berghuis and the preceding stoppage of play, the match has entered into a false rhythm with the Marseillais who crisscross the field but leave the initiative to the 10 Dutch who fail to get close to Pau Lopez’s goal .
22:25 – Lodi sees yellow
Caught by Hlynsson’s body feint on the right, Lodi is guilty of obstructing the Ajax player and collects a yellow card. The free kick that follows is poorly negotiated by Taylor who lifts his ball too much, which Pau Lopez grabs.
22:24 – Sarr lights on the right
At 40 meters, Veretout wants to give to Aubameyang but he lets it slip, like Clauss. The opposing defense is surprised and the ball reaches Sarr, who at the right corner of the area decides to use his right. The strike is sudden and powerful but shakes the nets from the outside.
22:22 – Correa goes out injured
Following Berghuis’ killer tackle, Correa is unable to continue the match. The Argentinian suffers from an ankle problem and must give way to Ndiaye.
22:19 – Wheel card for Berghuis
Alerted to the violence of Berghuis’ gesture, Mr. Sozza went to see the images and observed that the Dutch midfielder lost all control and threw himself with both feet off the ground. The Italian changes his sanction and shows the red card. Ajax Amsterdam will finish the last 30 minutes at 10.