‘A sh*tty and shameful night’ – Marseille sporting director reacts to Champions League exit | OneFootball

Opta had Olympique de Marseille’s chances of progression in the UEFA Champions League above 94% heading into Wednesday night’s final ‘League Phase’ match against Club Brugge. However, Roberto De Zerbi’s side would ultimately let it slip.

A week after losing 3-0 to Liverpool at the Vélodrome, OM headed to the Belgian capital, aware that their Champions League fate was in their hands. However, they conceded twice in the first 11 minutes and then conceded again in the second half.

But it still looked like it would be enough for Marseille. The big screens at the Jan Breydel Stadium even congratulated the Ligue 1 side for their progression to the playoffs.

That message, however, came before the final whistle in Benfica and Anatoliy Trubin’s 98th-minute header against Real Madrid would knock Les Phocéens out, the Portuguese side moving up to 24th at OM’s expense.

Sporting director Medhi Benatia did not hold back in his mixed-zone interview post-match.

“A sh*tty night, shameful. When you are a club like us, you can lose matches, like we lost in Madrid, like we lost in Lisbon, but you can’t lose like we did tonight,” began Benatia.

He added, “The truth is that, as a sporting director, what you have to do is ask for forgiveness, forgiveness from the supporters, from the people who make sacrifices for this club. I hope the players are aware that this was gross misconduct. I lost a lot of matches in my career, but rarely have I felt this feeling of shame. Conceding six goals in two matches…”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle