When you’re at the bottom of the hole, you have two options: bounce or dig. Tuesday, November 3, Olympique de Marseille dug. Rolled by an FC Porto announced convalescent (0-3), the Olympians lost their third meeting of the season in the Champions League, in as many games. A match which brings in the only French club to have lifted the Cup with big ears in history: with twelve defeats in a row in the competition, Marseille equal the sad record of the Belgians of Anderlecht, the only club in recent times to to have followed such a pitiful series. But the statistics are almost anecdotal, so much the Marseillais sank in Porto.
“We are simply not at the level of this competition. There are three games left, we have to try to show a new face. Because we are borderline ridiculous. ” As a good captain, Steve Mandanda is the last – bulwark – to leave the ship. But the Marseille goalkeeper did not mince his words after the meeting, at the microphone of RMC Sports. Angry, the goalkeeper of the France team got annoyed “Stupid goals that kill us the entry matches”. On Tuesday, Porto found the fault in the fourth minute of play, by Moussa Marega, taking advantage of a service from Corona, sowing discord in an apathetic defense (1-0, 4e).
If Marseille quickly had the opportunity to equalize, after a good job from Florian Thauvin causing a fault in the penalty area, Dimitri Payet sent the penalty high in the sky of Porto (10e). An attempt like OM’s season in the Champions League, where even the simplest actions seem insurmountable. Especially since the “Dragoes” did not miss the target a few minutes later, after a generous penalty awarded by the referee. Without asking any questions, the captain, Sergio Oliveira, executed the sentence (2-0, 28e).
“We had a bit of play, but we lacked experience and made several mistakes, noted the Marseille coach, André Villas-Boas, at the microphone of the broadcaster. Porto played more aggressive, well in the spaces. We are missing a goal and we paid dearly for this penalty… ” If a rapid equalization of the Phocéens could have started their competition – beaten by Olympiakos (0-1) and Manchester City (0-3), they have been fanny since the start of the year – the rest of the game encourages to put this failure into perspective. Because the teammates of an abysmal Dimitri Payer have never seemed able to worry the Portuguese.
“Here we are ridiculous”
“We haven’t been brilliant in the game lately, we are working a lot to improve. It’s also good to know how to win when you’re not good ”, expressed the Marseille attacking midfielder before the meeting, in response to criticism of OM’s lack of play. Tuesday, they knew how to lose without appearing to want to rebel; and this team praised for their combative mindset last year – which allowed them to clinch second place when the championship came to a halt – seemed to wander the field.
Without intensity or inspiration, the Marseillais exposed themselves to the rapid exits of the Dragons. And following an umpteenth acceleration from a Corona in the leg, which took back the entire Marseille rearguard, Luis Diaz, served as a clever shift, completed OM (3-0, 69e) “Our journey so far is marked by mistakes that kill us, got annoyed at Villas-Boas. It normally comes with more experience and more aggressiveness, you also have to be more lively in duels. ”
After three meetings in a reputedly affordable group, Marseille remains docked, with a zero score – and zero goals scored. “With the accumulation of past C1s, all these elements put together, that’s a lot”, sighed Steve Mandanda.
And if irreducible optimists will remember that last year, at the same stage of the competition, Atalanta Bergamo had the same number of points as OM (0) and a worse goal difference, and that did not prevent the Lombard team from bouncing back, before shining on the European scene – eliminated in the quarterfinals by PSG – difficult to see a sign. In 2020, Marseille sinks in silence and has never seemed able to even rebel. After hitting rock bottom on Tuesday, the Phocaeans will hope not to prolong their fall in the return leg, so as not to become “Forever the first” to hold, alone, the record for consecutive defeats in the current Champions League (AS La Jeunesse d’Esch, a Luxembourg club, had chained 16 defeats in a row between 1973 and 1987). “Our objective is now to improve our image because, here, we are ridiculous”, concluded André Villas-Boas. An epilogue at the height of the performance of his men, Tuesday.
