In the midst of an institutional crisis, Marseille got off to a very poor start on the pitch against Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday evening during the first day of the Europa League. After just nine minutes of play, Chancel Mbemba fouled out a seemingly innocuous ball and allowed the Dutch to open the scoring.
It’s hard to imagine a worse start for OM in the Europa League. While the club has been experiencing a serious institutional crisis since Monday evening and a very tense meeting between leaders and representatives of fan groups, “Pancho” Abardonado’s men did not really gain confidence against Ajax Amsterdam during the first day of the league. Europa League this Thursday evening.
>> AJAX-OM LIVE
Clearing the ball away from the goalkeeper is harmless at first glance
From the ninth minute of play, Carlos Borges delivered a huge response to the Marseille defense, taking advantage of a mistake by Chancel Mbemba. After an innocuous clearance from the Ajax goalkeeper, the Olympic defender shot high and left the Portuguese forward to face Pau Lopez. Borges negotiates his duels perfectly and outwits the Spanish goalkeeper.
After 11 minutes, Steven Berghuis took a penalty kick on his head with a very good recovery on the edge of the penalty area, and hit another shot on the head of the Olympians (2-0, minute 20). But the latter succeeded in responding immediately and reduced the score thanks to Jonathan Klaus, who contributed to putting his team back on the right track (2-1, 22nd place).
