OM looking for a rebound
OM remain on a complicated evening on Thursday, in the semi-finals of the Europa League, on the field of Feyenoord (3-2).
In an overheated atmosphere, Jorge Sampaoli's men suffered from the determination and intensity of their Dutch hosts.
Badly beaten for much of the first half, they erased a two-goal deficit before the break, but conceded the third just after the restart, on a technical error from Duje Caleta-Car.
Dimitri Payet and his teammates had chances to equalize but clearly lacked efficiency.
OM touched but not sunk and who remain alive before the return match, Thursday, in Marseille.
But to approach this meeting in the best possible way, the Provençals need to bounce back this Sunday, on the occasion of “Olympico”.
It was a very hard-fought match and we are playing again on Sunday, a very important match.
Thursday will be revenge but there is bound to be great physical wear and tear for both teams, because there was a lot of intensity
, ”explained Jorge Sampaoli after the defeat.
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
League 1 standings
Read also Tops / Flops Feyenoord-OM: Unstoppable Dessers, Caleta-Car guilty
OL still believe in Europe
Olympique Lyonnais' 2021-22 financial year is clearly disappointing.
Four days from the end of the championship, the Rhodanians are in an unsatisfactory eighth place in the standings.
And if the trend is not to qualify for European competition, Peter Bosz and his men still have reason to imagine playing on the European stage next season.
Indeed, with five points behind fifth place, Les Gones still have a chance.
Especially since the teams placed in front of them are not in their best dynamic.
“
We won against Montpellier, we have to win the remaining four matches
,” summarized Bosz at a press conference.
The accounts will be made at the end.
SEE ALSO -
OM's top 5 goals against OL
Stunning first leg
Postponed to the beginning of February after the throwing of a projectile on Dimitri Payet, the first leg had kept all its promises.
As expected, Olympique de Marseille had quickly settled into the Lyon camp, thanks to their mastery of possession and their intense pressing.
Mattéo Guendouzi took advantage of this domination to open the scoring very early in the game (10th).
But in the second act, and especially following the entry into play of Moussa Dembélé, the debates were reversed.
The Rhodaniens had equalized through Xherdan Shaqiri (76th) with a header before taking the lead, at the end of regulation time, on a superb sequence from Moussa Dembélé (89th).
Peter Bosz will want to avoid having the same start to the match.
"
In the first leg, we struggled in the first half, while in the second half, it was better.
You have to be stable for 90 minutes
,” he said.
It is also certain that Jorge Sampaoli will want to know a happier end for his team, which has not yet completely locked in its second place.
Read alsoTops / Flops Lyon-Marseille: Sharp and stunning Dembélé, Caleta-Car outdated
Two attacking teams
With 56 goals, the two teams appeared in third place in the ranking of the best attacks in Ligue 1 before the 35th lift.
The Gones are also particularly realistic at the moment.
Last weekend, against Montpellier, they shook the net five times (5-2).
In the middle of April, they stuck six to the Girondins de Bordeaux (6-1).
Suffice to say that the Marseillais will have to be vigilant.
But the Phocaeans are not outdone in the offensive field.
After a first part of the season marked by their defensive base, it is now in attack that they shine the most.
Indeed, OM is neither more nor less than one of the best attacks in Europe in 2022. Olympique Lyonnais is also warned.
An ever-burning poster
Since the 2000s, "Olympico" has established itself as one of the most beautiful posters in Ligue 1. And one of the most anticipated.
Whether on the field or off, with small provocations on both sides, the confrontation between the two formations is now always hot.
Everyone remembers the incredible 5-5 in the 2009-2010 season, but many other matches were spectacular, whether in terms of the number of goals scored, the scenario or the intensity on the pitch.
In November 2019, during Marseille's last victory in this shock, Payet offered success to his team in a volcanic atmosphere.
Undoubtedly, this Sunday, the "Olympico" should still have a special flavor.
SEE ALSO -
When Dimitri Payet offered victory to OM against OL in November 2019 (2-1)
