Habib Beye says Ethan Nwaneri and Leonardo Balerdi ‘most affected’ by Marseille’s Coupe de France exit | OneFootball

Olympique de Marseille crashed out of the Coupe de France at the hands of Toulouse FC on Wednesday night. The context of the elimination deepens the pain of it. There was a real sense that Marseille’s 14-year wait for a trophy could come to an end, given Paris Saint-Germain’s premature and surprise exit from the competition at the hands of Paris FC.

Then there was the context of Wednesday’s quarter-final at the Vélodrome. OM led twice, firstly through Mason Greenwood and then through Igor Paixao. On both occasions, Habib Beye’s side quickly conceded an equaliser that took the game to a penalty shoot-out. 

And it was Le TéFéCé who would progress, with Ethan Nwaneri missing the crucial penalty, putting it over the bar. Prior to that, Leonardo Balerdi’s miss had already put Marseille on the backfoot. In a post-match press conference attended by Get French Football News, Beye confirmed that the two players who missed the penalties were “most affected” by the elimination. 

Beye has come in for criticism after the final penalty was handed to Nwaneri, on loan from Arsenal. “I won’t have a discussion about that. I like the personality of a player who decides to take his responsibilities. We were clear in terms of the order of the penalty-takers […] these two [players who missed] who are the most affected,” said the Marseille manager.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle