Having been knocked out in the third preliminary round of the Champions League, the Olympians still have the Championship, the Europa League and the Coupe de France to turn to in what has been a disastrous start to the season.
, don’t talk to me about Grenoble anymore Said Fernand Reynaud in his inimitable style with his hat. Talk no more about Athens than Marseille, who lost their illusion against Panathinaikos in the Champions League in Greece. However, he will have to return to Athens on 9 November for the return match of the Europa League against another club in the Greek capital, AEK.
Marcelino was right when he said in front of the opposition against “Pana” that ” first step came too soon “. Of course, there was unfavorable refereeing from Romanian Isetvan Kovacs, who sent off Geoffrey Kondogbia with a warning after only thirty-four seconds of play, but Valentin Rongier’s teammates dominated technically, tactically and physically. Six minutes before the end they conceded an avoidable goal.
Emotional excitement at the Orange Velodrome
The second leg, played in front of 63,000 spectators on 15 August, will go down in the bad memories in OM’s history. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did the hardest work by scoring two goals. OM qualified in half time. Despite Ismaila Sarr having a goal disallowed for offside early in the second half, Marcelino’s players were under pressure and dominated by the Greeks, who narrowly scored from the penalty spot in the ninth minute of extra time. English referee Michael Oliver, after a lengthy VAR consultation, disallowed a goal for Vitinha and did not award a penalty to Matteo Guendouzzi, who was pushed in the penalty area. For the rest we know, Guendouzi missed his shot on goal and the players left the field with their heads bowed in regret. The Olympians can take solace from the Europa League which begins on September 21 with a trip to Amsterdam to play against Ajax. The Englishmen from Brighton are Marseille’s other rivals in this group. The first directly qualifies for the round of 16, the second competes in a play-off to reach the round of 16.
Two wins and two draws in the league
Winners of Reims (2–1) and Brest (2–0) in Marseille, OM lost two points in Metz (2–2) and Nantes (1–1). The common point of these matches is the opener and the numerical superiority of Marseille against the opponents has been reduced to ten. A match lasts ninety minutes with extra time. Marcelino’s players forgot him twice. He thought he had done his hardest by opening the score and considering his 11 to 10 victory. These errors should be rectified promptly. OM-Toulouse’s next match is at the Orange Vélodrome on 17 September at 5pm, before traveling to Paris for the first “Clásico” of the season on 24 September at 8:45 pm.
Europa League Schedule
UEFA announced the schedule for the group stage of the Europa League last Saturday. Here’s the schedule for OM, included in Group B: September 21 Ajax-OM (9pm) – October 5 OM-Brighton (6:45pm) – October 26 OM-AEK Athens (6:45pm) – 9 November AEK Athens-OM (9 p.m.) – November 30 OM-Ajax (9 p.m.) – December 14 Brighton-OM (9 p.m.).
Gilbert Dulac
Death of Salif Keita
It was the time of black and white television and the time of ORTF. Matches broadcast on Channel One or Channel Two were rare. But for five seasons the supporters of Saint-Étienne and during the 1972–1973 season the supporters of OM admired and appreciated the scoring qualities of Malian Salif Keita, nicknamed “The Panther”. The 1970–1971 season was historic for the First Division championship. With 44 goals, Josip Skobler was the top scorer ahead of Salif Keita who scored 42 goals. The first African winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1970, Keita ended his career in Valencia and the United States. He died at the age of 76.
goal difference