‘A little bitter taste’ – Jean-Louis Gasset rues missed opportunities in Marseille-Atalanta  | OneFootball

1-1 was not the scoreline that Olympique de Marseille had hoped when they hosted Atalanta in the semi-final of the Europa League. The French side have only won four times away from home this season across all competitions, and in less than a week they would have to make that five if they have any hope of progressing to the final.

There were promising signs for La Phocéens and they certainly put their guests through the wringer with a series of missed opportunities, shots colliding with the post, and an offside goal. After the game, Jean-Louis Gasset admitted that it was a missed opportunity for the team, “There is a little bitter taste. We are aware of having played the right game against a good team.”

In part, it was a defensive collapse which caused the goal. Leonardo Balerdi (25) and Michael Amir Murillo (28) switched off from their task of watching Gianluca Scamacca (25) and the forward was able to slip into their blindside as Teun Koopmeiners (26) threaded the ball towards the striker. Something Gasset defended, “I just see a small lack of attention.”

Marseille at half-time in their semi-final

Still, the manager was clear that the game was not over despite the psychological mountain that Marseille will have to climb. “A few had their heads down and I told them we were at half-time of a semi-final. We have a week to prepare properly. We know what to do.”

GFFN | Nick Hartland