Olympique Marseille has lost the last game before the return against Feyenoord in the Conference League. In front of his own audience, the number two of the Ligue 1 lost 0-3 against Olympique Lyon on Sunday evening. With rivals Stade Rennes and AS Monaco only three points less than Marseille, a ticket to the group stage of the Champions League is anything but certain. Peter Bosz’s Lyon rises to seventh place. With three games to go, the gap to number five OGC Nice is five points, which means that qualification for European football is still possible.
Jorge Sampaoli made six changes compared to the first game against Feyenoord. Steve Mandanda, Valentin Rongier, Luan Peres, Mattéo Guendouzi, Cédric Bakambu and Bamba Dieng disappeared from the starting XI, leaving room for Pau López, Pol Lirola, Sead Kolasinac, Pape Gueye, Cengiz Ünder and Arek Milik. A striking moment occurred in the first half: after 24 minutes, a sliding Moussa Dembélé got the ball in the penalty area against his outstretched arm after a cross from Gerson, but arbiter Antony Gautier did not award a penalty and was not called off. .
Shortly before the break, Milik had the biggest chance of the first half. After a low cross from Gerson, the striker couldn’t get his foot right against the ball, while he was in scoring position just in front of the goal. Nine minutes after the break, Lyon took the lead. The Marseille wall changed direction on a free kick by Emerson, after which the leather ended up at the far post for Dembélé. The attacker touched the ball and landed with his studs on the arm of keeper López, before Castello Lukeba shot in from close range. Despite the fierce protest from Marseille, the goal turned out to be valid.
Marseille had to put in a lot of effort in the last half hour of the game. Dimitri Payet took an attractive position on a free kick, but goalkeeper Anthony Lopes parried the specialist’s effort. Fifteen minutes before time it was again on the other side. In a counter-attack, Malo Gusto sent a cross from the right flank after an attack, which was appreciated by Dembélé at the near post: 0-2. Marseille did not manage to get Lyon in major trouble. The pace was too slow and the home side had trouble finding openings. Only in minute 88 did Marseille get a good chance. However, the detached Cédric Bakambu hit the ball completely wrong and in the switch Karl Toko Ekambi determined the final score at 0-3.