OM will play their last match of the season next weekend against Strasbourg. The Marseillais will have to win to hope to finish second in Ligue 1 and thus qualify directly for the group stages of the Champions League…
The season for Olympique de Marseille at home is disastrous, not enough to be confident for the last match this Saturday against Strasbourg still in the race for a place in the European Cup. And Pierre Ménès is not confident for the Marseillais:
The Marseillais authors of an absolute non-match – Ménès
« A difficult match for Stéphan’s men, certainly tense by the stakes and who did not deliver their best performance far from it but who will play a final in Marseille next week and can dream of Europe, depending results from Nice – in Reims – and from Lens – against Monaco – next week. And it does not seem impossible given the current form of the Marseillais, authors of an absolute non-match on the lawn of Roazhon Park. The Breton team had regained its vertical and effective game and scored two goals « Rennes style » by the incredible Bourigeaud and the excellent Majer. Opposite, the Olympians had hardly any chances, which is probably partly explained by the astonishing attacking choices of Sampaoli, who had left Dieng and Milik on the bench. » Pierre Menes— Source: Pierrot le foot (14/05/22)
Alsatian coach Julien Stéphan spoke about the importance of next weekend’s meeting, after his victory against Clermont (1-0):
A final in Marseille – Stéphan
“We took advantage of both our victory and Nice’s faux pas. We had a semi-final to play today. We won it, which gives us the right to play a final in Marseille next week. It is exceptional for us. If we had been told that on the evening of the first day, no one would have believed it. It’s a fair reward to be able to play a match with such a stake in Marseille. » Julien Stephan— Source: Press Conf (05/15/22)
Maybe I too have some responsibility for what happened here tonight — Sampaoli
In a press conference after the meeting, Jorge Sampaoli spoke. The Argentinian coach has assumed his responsibilities for the rout of his players. Tactically, he clearly didn’t make the right choices and was also slow to make changes.
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“We were overtaken on actions without the ball especially, when we had the ball we were much too imprecise. Rennes were better than us, that’s all. Maybe I too have some responsibility for what happened here tonight. (Saturday). We wanted to control the game but the opponent wouldn’t let us, we had to change our plans but at this stage of the season we didn’t have much variation. We tried to play better in the second half to win but we didn’t deserve it. It’s very difficult to explain it. We suffered this match both at the football and emotional level. Offensive performance has been poor. We tried to bring more variety in the second half with the entry of Bamba Dieng. In fact, the game turned more in favor of Rennes who were much better in both penalty areas. Taking second place? It’s hard, of course, especially because we’re no longer dependent on us. But there is still a decisive match for us at the Vélodrome. If we win, we can achieve this goal of qualifying for the Champions League. » Jorge Sampaoli – Source: Press conference (05/14/22)