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The environment was smouldering forward of the groups popping out, because the Olympique de Marseille followers awaited the determine of 1 man. The person who had led the group in the beginning of the season however had left after distinctive circumstances.
He had stop days forward of the membership’s opening fixture within the Europa League in opposition to Ajax alleging extreme threats, intimidation, and slander from sections of the supporters. And weeks later nonetheless offended at his therapy, slated those self same followers that had pressured him out “Some radical supporters need to consistently affect occasions stopping it from being a giant membership.”
It was after all some cosmic injustice for Marcelino that he must make his return to the Stade Vélodrome this season whereas emotions nonetheless ran “sizzling” as Amine Harit had warned. Villarreal had even gone to the lengths of hiring non-public safety for his or her supervisor. And as he stepped out onto a pitch he had in all probability wished to by no means see once more he was met with the wall of sound.
It was a sense that the Marseille group would hope to utilise as they tried to navigate the opening leg of their Europa League Spherical of 16 tie and make it 4 wins in a row for his or her fourth supervisor of the season; Jean-Louis Gasset.
Villarreal understood this and tried from the primary whistle to dampen the noisy crowd. They appeared to interrupt up the momentum of the sport with intelligent fouls that prevented Marseille from discovering their circulation. They’d delay their set items ready till the precise proper second to play the ball. And once they went down, they stayed down.
12 | Marseille 0-0 Villarreal: Merlin picks up a careless yellow. A balanced affair to the beginning of the sport. Villarreal doing nicely to dampen what was proving to be a loud crowd forward of the sport.
— Get French Soccer Information (@GFFN) March 7, 2024
It was an efficient tactic for the primary twenty minutes however was undone by the defence stepping away from Marseille as they crowded the field. Iliman Ndiaye was in a position to maintain the ball inside the penalty space as Villarreal appeared to comprise him. It allowed for Jonathan Clauss to overlap and assault the halfspace and put in a tidy cross for Jordan Veretout to leap at. The midfielder headed residence to place Marseille forward.
Marseille appeared to batter Villarreal with invading crosses and it was success by numbers for the second of the sport. Harit’s pushed cross was deflected by Villarreal defender Santi Comesaña in direction of the purpose. It appeared well-covered however Yerson Mosquera panicked and tried to clear the ball solely to show it into his personal web.
The floodgates had been open and a 3rd got here earlier than the halftime break when Ismaïla Sarr latched onto Harit’s go to storm into the field the place he was introduced down by Mosquera in a night-to-forget for the defender.
The referee waved away the preliminary resolution earlier than consulting VAR and awarding Marseille a penalty. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stepped up and whereas Pepe Reina went the precise manner, the ahead’s shot was a contact too excessive and went in over the veteran goalkeeper’s fingertips.
Marcelino wrung the modifications at halftime as a celebration environment descended on the stadium bringing on Alexander Sørloth, Dani Parejo, and Alberto Moreno. Nevertheless, after 13 minutes Marseille as soon as once more punished their guests as Aubameyang scored the fourth.
It was an unimaginable effort from the ahead to attain his sixth since Gasset turned supervisor. A lob from an unlikely angle over Reina to kiss the put up and drop into the purpose. The sport was nicely and really over and there was nonetheless nearly half the sport left to play. A truth consolidated by substitute Alex Moreno choosing up his second yellow and being despatched off.
The sport continued in a wierd lull as Villarreal dropped deep and hoped solely to keep away from a fair deeper deficit. The countless jubilant chants from the Marseille supporters had been like a funeral dirge for the supervisor who had left them. The fury and upset that had began the sport had been gone, the wall of sound was not enraged, there was solely the celebration of a group that has lastly discovered its rhythm.
Marseille participant rankings
Pau López, 5
Quentin Merlin, 7
Leonardo Balerdi, 5 – Often was pulled out of place within the first half. Fast to interact and break the defensive position which was largely left unpunished as a result of Mbemba was so good at sweeping up the Villarreal assaults.
Chancel Mbemba, 8
Jonathan Clauss, 8
Jordan Veretout, 7
Geoffrey Kondogbia, 6
Amine Harit, 9 – The midfielder was nearly on the coronary heart of every thing that labored nicely for Marseille. Important in three of their targets. He was a imaginative and prescient of fixed motion seeking to thread passes all through the pitch.
Ismaïla Sarr, 7
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 9 – The ahead seems to be freed beneath Gasset. His report beneath the brand new supervisor has been unimaginable and his confidence seems to be as if it has totally returned to him.
Illiman Ndiaye, 8
GFFN | Nick Hartland
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