Player Ratings | Shakhtar 2-2 Marseille – Les Olympiens held in dramatic fashion to set up nail-biting second leg
Olympique de Marseille led on two occasions but were held dramatically by Shakhtar in Hamburg to set up a nail-biting second leg at the Velodrome. Aubameyang’s landmark goal and Ndiaye’s late strike weren’t enough to bring an aggregate lead back to Massilia, as Matvinyenko’s strike and a dramatic late equaliser from Eguinaldo see the two sides level going into the part two of this Europa League knockout play-off clash.
Gennaro Gattuso’s side travelled to Hamburg to try and forget about their domestic woes in a vital Europa League knockout play-off tie, especially against a Ukrainian side who have not played a competitive match for two months.
Shakhtar’s competitive hiatus didn’t show in the opening minutes of the game, as they started the brighter of the two sides with an early shot from Zubkov had to be tipped over the bar by Pau Lopez. The next 15 minutes would be dominated by home side in terms of possession, but Marseille looked to respond with Gigot’s header which flashed wide of the far post.
The home side had the ball in the back of the net through Eguinaldo but the referee already blew his whistle for an earlier foul before Lopez’s error saw panic in the OM backline. Whilst the away side tried to progress the ball up the pitch, they looked susceptible to Shakhtar’s direct attacking play on the counter-attack.
OM would have one of their best chances of the half on the break, but when Aubameyang was found by Harit, the Gabonese international took too many extra touches inside the box as Shakhtar’s defence came to the rescue. A cagey affair in the first half would turn into an eventful second period…
With Moumbagna getting more involved in the second half, the Cameroonian striker held play up and brought Ounahi into
Read on getfootballnewsfrance.com
