French football is looking bleak. This Thursday, the qualifying play-offs for the Round of 16 of the Europa League gave their final verdict. And so Olympique de Marseille, winners of Shakhtar Donetsk at the Orange Velodrome, managed to come out on top of the four clubs that entered the competition. A mediocre record that once again tarnishes the image of French football. . In terms of disappointment, the most obvious is thanks to RC Lens, who was killed in Friborg at the end of a brutal spectacle (3-2). Checked in the first leg, RC Lens approached their return play-off in Friborg with the firm intention of winning against an opponent who was affordable on paper and for whom life in the Championship is not bright (Friborg went on a streak of 5 matches without a win, including 3 defeat included), everything was still possible for the Artesian club which was playing the hundredth European match in its history.
If Pereira da Costa and Eli Wahi rewarded the first full period for Lens, the latter slowly let go, giving their opponents a chance to get back into the game. Despite two early goals, the northern club completely collapsed. Unknown after returning from the locker room, the author of countless crucial saves, Bryce Samba’s teammates panicked. Sallai, the author of the double, got Friborg back on track before Gregorisch sealed Germany’s victory in extra time. Thus, Florian Sotoka may have deep regrets at the final whistle. “In the first half, we deserved to qualify but they did what they needed to in the second half and we were unable to respond. I don’t think it played mentally. We have two balls of 3-1. They scored in the last minute, it’s sad because we wanted to continue the adventure”announced the Lensois midfielder on the microphone RMC Sport.
Rennes raised the level of his game, in vain…
Landing in Lombardy with great ambitions, Stade Renais experienced a terrible evening at the San Siro. Severely beaten with a score of 0 to 3 goals, the Breton club, capitalizing on its current form in the championship, was condemned for its performance against a Milan team that came off a shock last weekend, in Monza. . But again, the magic didn’t happen at a sold-out Rozon Park. Although the task looked daunting against one of the favorites for the final victory, Martin Terrier’s partners played their luck bravely as Bourrigeaud’s early score in the first quarter of an hour. The joy was short-lived as Jovic came on minutes later to cut SRFC’s hopes of a comeback to ashes. In the second period, Rafael Leo stunned the Bretons a bit more after solo raids ended with great success while the SRFC captain, meanwhile, gave his side the advantage again from the penalty spot.
Finally, the Rennes midfielder took advantage of Jovic’s hand to score a hat-trick, with Lille becoming the first player since Turk Yusuf Yazici to score a hat-trick against AC Milan in the Europa League in November 2020. If Rennes manages to raise his level of play to overcome the Milanese (3-2), victory will remain elusive even if Julian Stephan chooses to stay positive, out of elimination. “It’s an honor. The players played a great match, a match they needed to play. Congratulations to Milan on their qualification, they deserved it in both matches. Our salvation can only come by taking these risks. It is a very prestigious victory for Stade Rennais, certainly the club’s best win in the European Cup. We felt a very strong emotion.”Welcome to the Rance technician in the mixed zone.
Toulouse believed in it to the end
After a particularly explosive second half during the first leg in Lisbon, Toulouse were long confident in Di Maria’s heroics, not conceding a penalty, dampening Toulouse’s spirits. Thus, Pichons had to make up for his tardiness against the big regulars on the continental scene, particularly at the Stadium against Liverpool, using a superb performance during the group stage (a 3–2 victory for Téfécé). But like the Breton neighbour, the step was too high for the Haut-Geronnais club who could do no better than a draw against Benfica (0-0). However, the Violets believed in it until the end. And for good reason, the Toulouse team did the most obvious actions of the game but it came against the Portuguese wall named Trubin, such as his heroic save on a point-blank rebound from Ciero.
At the final whistle, Carles Martínez Nouvel struggled to find words after eliminating his team, who came so close to the feat. “After this game we have a strange feeling. Because we are happy, which is strange because normally you are happy when you qualify. But when you play this kind of match… I think you imagine can. So it’s a foreign feeling. I talked to the team, I’m proud of the guys tonight. The whole staff is proud, and I think the whole city is too. But hey, we couldn’t score, and we had to. Had to score to qualify. That’s it.”The Spanish manager tried to convince the press.
To save the honor of French football, O.M
After a draw during which OM led twice before being neatly held by their Ukrainian counterpart, and after a heartbreaking defeat to Brest in the Championship that sounded the death knell for Gennaro Gattuso, The Marseille club had to win to avoid a blank season and fury. of his supporters. Deprived of many players like Balerdi, Murillo and Rongier, the Olympian club certainly started poorly, conceding the opener to Aguinaldo from the start, but were able to turn things around. Very quickly, Aubameyang came in to bring the two teams back on equal terms. However, we had to wait until the second half to see Kondogbia, who was voted man of the match by our editorial team, thank the Phocaeans Sir, before sealing victory decisively for his side (3-1).
Struggling in Ligue 1, OM got to smile again for first Jean-Louis Gasset on the bench. Above all, the Olympian team offered its supporters the right to continue the adventure in C3. “It feels good to get back to winning ways and get through this round. Credit goes to the supporters this evening. Despite conceding a goal early in the match, they supported us till the end. They didn’t give up, we didn’t give up and we used it. we felt We needed them. They really brought us today. I think everyone put their ass on the floor., expressed Aubameyang. The only French representative still in the running, Olympique de Marseille will know the identity of their future opponent this Friday February 23 at 12pm while Lens, Rennes and Toulouse will have to focus on the French championship.
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