Champions League: Tottenham dominates Marseille reduced to ten

Published on: 07/09/2022 – 16:05 Despite a very good start to the match, Olympique de Marseille, reduced to ten almost the entire second period, lost 2-0 in London on the ground of Tottenham. Olympique de Marseille started badly, Wednesday, September 7, its new European course in London, in the Tottenham stadium. The Marseillais, who had nevertheless resisted very well in the first period, cracked against the English club (0-2) after the expulsion of Chancel Mbemba in the 47th minute. On the first offensive movement at high speed succeeded by Tottenham, after more of 45 minutes very poor on the English side, Son Heung-min was launched deep and Mbemba, impeccable since his arrival in Marseille, mowed down the South Korean and was sent off. The second period had barely started and, inevitably, what followed was long and difficult for OM, who nevertheless resisted until the start of the last quarter of an hour. Two headers from Richarlison (76th and 81st) then got the better of Marseille’s resistance. Logically beaten by the favorite of group D, OM still left London with their heads held high and with a lot of reason to believe to a possible qualification before rubbing shoulders with Frankfurt and Sporting Portugal, two teams which play a priori in the same court as them, unlike the Spurs. A good resistance from Marseille In London, as long as they were at 11, Igor Tudor’s team never gave up playing high or pressing, even if the threats could seem frightening: the liveliness of Son, the physique of Richarlison, the all-terrain quality of Kane. Until the break, it was the Marseillais who controlled the match, even if, inevitably, in the absence of Alexis Sanchez (suspended) and Dimitri Payet (substitute), he lacked a bit of creativity and quality at the front. Under these conditions, OM were not extraordinarily dangerous, with a strike next to Tavares (20th) and another from Guendouzi (45+1) , repelled by Lloris, who throughout the match did not seem very serene. But before Mbemba’s expulsion, Tottenham had been even less so with the only thrill of an off-target cross shot from Kane (41st). But at 10 against 11 then, Marseille logically suffered. The lines fell 30 meters, the English crosses multiplied and OM clung to their point. Tudor gave his team a little air with his changes, his players let every possible second slip away on every throw-in and every free kick, but they ended up yielding under the battering and against Richarlison. In the very last seconds, a Harit-Under movement could have given OM a deserved goal. He did not come and with this defeat, the 14th in his last 15 C1 games, OM’s liabilities in the competition are increasing. But with what they showed in London, the Marseillais can really hope to improve the record. Relive the match on our liveblog. With AFP