Less than a month ago, Marseille counted the defeats which continued to accumulate in the Champions League and nothing indicated that the Marseillais could imagine a European future.

But everything changed in the space of two games against Sporting.

The six points taken against the Portuguese indeed allow OM to overtake them and settle in second place in Group D, one point behind Tottenham and two ahead of Frankfurt, where they will go in two weeks.

The victory brought back from Lisbon also accredits the thesis of the accident for the defeat conceded on Saturday against Ajaccio (2-1) and gives the Marseillais a small reserve of confidence before going to the Parc des Princes on Sunday for the L1 classic against at Paris SG.

During the first 20 minutes on Wednesday, however, the show was quite austere, between a few scuffles in midfield and an avalanche of technical errors.

But as in the first leg, where they had been weighed down by the wanderings of their titular goalkeeper Antonio Adan, it was the Portuguese who tipped the game, once again not in their direction.

When he had just been warned, the very rough Ricardo Esgaio thus intervened very late on Harit in the middle of the surface, for a terrible double penalty: second warning and penalty.

Marseillais Matteo Guendouzi scores from the penalty spot against Sporting on October 12, 2022 in Lisbon CARLOS COSTA AFP

Mattéo Guendouzi hit him perfectly, post returning, and Marseille was in front (1-0, 20th) and eleven against ten, as for more than an hour in the first leg a week ago.

in view of the classic

Sporting therefore still made life easier for OM and everything then became too much for the young Portuguese team to bear.

After a first strike from Alexis Sanchez painfully repelled by the worrying Franco Israel, Sporting's N.2 goalkeeper, the sentence logically came quickly with a second goal, signed Sanchez after a sharp action from Harit, unstoppable throughout. throughout the match (30th, 2-0).

Sporting defender Ricardo Esgaio (d) fouls OM striker Amine Harit on October 12, 2022 in Lisbon CARLOS COSTA AFP

As if they hadn't had enough misfortunes so far, Ruben Amorim's side lost yet again captain and centre-back Sebastian Coates to injury before the break.

And during the second period, it was with a team of inexperienced kids that Sporting continued this double-confrontation nightmare.

This became even more terrible with another dismissal in the 61st minute for winger Pedro Gonçalves, and the end of the match was very quiet for OM, who failed to score a third goal but nor did he throw all his strength to get there.

Portuguese fans began to leave the stadium well before the final whistle, those who stayed content to throw a few paper planes on the lawn or to whistle Nuno Tavares, ex-child of the club rejected after passing by Benfica .

Igor Tudor, for his part, managed the playing time and the Croatian technician was able to preserve Jonathan Clauss and Guendouzi, the two real essentials of his group.

Back from injury, the right piston and the midfielder were replaced when there was no longer a stake, in view of Sunday's classic.

Sporting midfielder Nuno Santos (g) and Marseille midfielder Jonathan Clauss, on October 12, 2022 in Lisbon PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA AFP

For Marseille, the European horizon is emerging but the calendar remains frightening.

PSG have other problems.

© 2022 AFP