Bis repeated for OM. From the start Ismaïla Sarr was untenable on the right side, touching Oukidja’s post from the 2nd minute. He was behind the goal of Soglo (14th), delivering the penultimate pass. Although the pressing in Metz worked particularly well, once OM settled in, the ball carrier often found himself lonely. This is what was lacking last week at Roazhon Park. Despite this positive weather, the Grenats were never able to put the danger on the goals of Olympique de Marseille.
At the same time, the Phocaeans seemed physically marked. Marcelino has chosen to renew the majority of men who played the Champions League match on Wednesday against Panathinaikos. Candé was the only dangerous garnet during this first half, with a shot that was heading straight for the skylight of Pau Lopez (39th). Marseille therefore went back to the locker room with a one-goal lead.
Metz repeated the same mistakes as in the first period. It didn’t take long to see Rongier double the lead before the latter saw his achievement disallowed for a foul by Sarr at the start of the action. To top it off, the Garnets had to do without Ababacar Lô from the hour mark. The defender very dangerously wiped his foot on Ndiaye’s tibia. The trigger for the rest of the meeting? Because barely 4 minutes after this expulsion, Sabaly scored a saving goal for FC Metz, well helped by the tibia of Valentin Rongier (65th).
Five minutes later, it was Mikautadze, who took advantage of a ball from Pau Lopez to double the lead and lead two goals to one. The match got carried away and OM responded through Vitinha, who came on in the 74th minute. The Portuguese scored his second goal in the second game in the 82nd minute, offset by another entrant, Amine Harit. The 9 minutes of added time gave a glimpse of a great show, filled with suspense. Even if the Marseillais pushed, they did not know how to find the surplus of soul to score the winning goal.