Everything has to be done. At the end of an exciting first round at the Vélodrome, OM failed to defeat Atalanta Bergamo this Thursday evening (1-1). A score of parity which sums up well the stakes of the confrontation and the balance between the two teams, almost surprise guests in the last four of the Europa League. And it was Dea, nickname of the old Bergamo team, who struck first, with a clinical finish from the inevitable Gianluca Scamacca, returning from a slight injury to score his sixth goal in this C3 campaign (11th).
Picked cold, the Vélodrome certainly did not stop the lively encouragement, before increasing its intensity on the inspiration of Chancel Mbemba. Also back from injury, the other “Mr Europa” of OM scored his fifth goal of the campaign, and what a goal, with a long shot with the help of the post, following a corner played two-way (20th). The locals had fallen behind, almost the hardest against a team which had scattered Liverpool at Anfield thanks to its cold efficiency in the previous round (0-3).
But it was OM who had the best opportunities of the match, and one man more precisely: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Usually so clinical, especially in C3, where he remains in search of the goals record (37 against 40), the Gabonese will have missed a lot this Thursday, before (34th, 36th, 42nd) as after the break (47th, 53rd). Often untenable, particularly in depth, the former Arsenal player only missed the last gesture, and his 11th goal in C3 this season will have to wait.
Perhaps OM number 10 is reserving his finish and a possible somersault for the return to Bergamo? Accustomed to European evenings at high altitude, where the air becomes rarefied, “PEA” will once again be the number 1 threat of an OM who could (should?) have benefited from Bergamo’s defensive generosity and a goalkeeper often on the edge of the catastrophe. But neither “Auba”, nor Ounahi, author of an almost perfect strike on the square (72nd) will have made Atalanta bend, who could have achieved the perfect hold-up on the gong, with the strike of the ‘incoming Miranchuk (90th). We said it from the start, everything remains to be done. See you in Bergamo!
