PLAYER RATINGS | Club Brugge 3-0 Marseille: OM limp out Champions League in torrid evening
THE MATCH
It’s been fourteen years since Marseille last reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, and that curse continued on a torrid evening for Roberto De Zerbi’s men – which finished with Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scoring a 98-minute goal against Real Madrid to dump OM out of the Champions League. Yet the damage had already been done in Brugge, as Les Olympiens fell to a 3-0 defeat in a contest which ultimately saw them miss qualification by a single goal.
It was the worst possible start for De Zerbi’s men, Mohamed Diakhon slipping into the box with a run which was neither tracked by Medina nor Murillo. The former Reims man was directed at Rulli, but the Argentine couldn’t get a firm hand to it and the ball looped into the back of the net (4′). Only minutes later, the Belgian hosts would double the scoreline – as Medina and Murillo once again left too much space for a one-two before Romeo Vermant’s quick finish on the swivel to stun Les Olympiens (12′). Only seconds later Diakhon would bear down on goal once more and Rulli who had
Mason Greenwood’s shot on goal wouldn’t be enough, as Marseille struggled to build-up in Brugge’s third. Meanwhile, results elsewhere would see Les Phocéens flirt with elimination momentarily as they dropped down to 25th. Roberto De Zerbi’s men held onto the ball longer, as the Belgians dropped deeper into their own half. Mason Greenwood was the only player who could stand out for OM in the first period, and managed to get several shots off at goal but without testing Simon Mignolet. Igor Paixao would be the immediate change for Roberto De Zerbi, and the Brazilian was instantly involved as Kondogbia’s strike on the edge of the box tested Mignolet.
Brugge then broke down the right side through Forbes and Diakhon had the ball in the box and wasted his chance to finish off the match for the hosts. Gouiri had a strike fall just wide of the post, before De Zerbi called upon Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to enter the fray. The Gabon international was denied by Mignolet after an error from the Brugge backline. Paixao was the next to be denied by Mignolet, before Greenwood’s trickery in the box led to a strike from Højbjerg being denied on the line. The next ten minutes saw goals from Chelsea and Sporting which would boost OM back into the top 24. Yet Brugge should have killed off the game as Vermant had a huge chance with a strike on the angle which dribbled just wide of Rulli’s right post.
Marseille were losing, yes, but they were hanging onto qualification for the play-offs by one goal. That was when Brugge added a third through Stankovic: hitting on the rebound after he missed an initial one-on-one with Rulli. For a moment, it was the goal that eliminated Marseille from the Champions League. This was before the equation shifted and saw OM in 24th place as the final whistle blew.
Benfica keeper Anatoliy Trubin struck the definitive blow, when he nodded his side in front against Real Madrid in the 98th minute to put Benfica into the play-off qualification spots by a single goal.
OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE PLAYER RATINGS
Geronimo Rulli – 2
The Argentine’s error clearly saw OM go behind in the early stages of the game, marking a pattern of mistakes in recent months in major matches. Romeo Vermant just struck his shot too quickly for the Argentine minutes later to double Brugge’s first half lead. Yet Rulli managed to somewhat make up for it with good closing down of Diakhon, but he would concede one more to Stankovic later in the second period to cap-off a bad showing for Marseille.
Facundo Medina – 3
The Argentine had a difficult start to the game, too passive with Balerdi in his positioning for the first two goals and was caught too often than not out of position – which was the case when Forbes broke through on the counter attack in the second period and the Argentine left Paixao to defend himself. It luckily didn’t convert into a third goal after a third vital mistake.
Nayef Aguerd – 3
Leonardo Balerdi – 3
Michael Murillo – 3
Geoffrey Kondogbia – 3
Whilst the pairing of Kondogba and Højbjerg has worked in previous outings, it was quite the disastrous start for both OM midfielders against Brugge – leaving space for Diakhon’s late run down the left side for the opener. The pairing just didn’t work, on an evening where it looked like De Zerbi’s system was febrile.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 3
The Danish midfielder looked nothing like his former self, and struggled to impose himself in the first period. With the ball, he was poor, especially when OM needed to chase the game after going behind.
Mason Greenwood – 4
One of the only Marseille players who had any semblance of attacking intent and positivity in the first period, but started to face in the second period – much in the image of the rest of De Zerbi’s side.
Junior Hamad Traoré – 2
Amine Gouiri – 2
Selected Brugge Players
Mohamed Diakhon – 6
