Mathieu Valbuena was elusive for his reunion with OM in the Champions League.

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LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP

  • Olympique de Marseille were beaten at the very end of the match by Olympiakos 1-0 for their return to the Champions League after a seven-year absence.

  • Mathieu Valbuena, the former OM player, was one of the great architects of the victory of Olympiakos.

Mathieu Valbuena in Olympic form.

Olympique de Marseille, were beaten by the wire by Olympiakos (1-0), Wednesday night in Greece for their return to the Champions League, after seven years of absence.

The Greeks scored in added time, a goal all the more cruel as it comes from a very good job from the former Olympian, Mathieu Valbuena, who left to be seen among the Greeks.

It had already been more than half an hour that the Marseillais, and especially Steve Mandanda, repelled the assaults of Olympiakos, when Mathieu Valbuena came to drop a ball on the head of the returning Ahmed Hassan to offer an ultimately logical victory to his team (90 + 1).

"It is true that it is a small pang in the heart but today I am very happy for Olympiakos because I think we deserve this victory", rejoiced Mathieu Valbuena at the microphone of RMC Sport. , aware of having played a bad trick on his former club.

"A very, very special match for me"

Quite discreet in the first half even if he made good shifts, Mathieu Valbuena showed himself more and more present as the game went on.

Unlike the Olympique de Marseille.

He was very present and played fair, often finding his teammates to attack.

“I was decisive, I could have been before but Steve made good saves,” commented the former Marseille player, while his shot at the end however could have given an advantage earlier in the game to l 'Olympiakos (70th).

He was a little earlier at the origin of the goal refused to Olympiakos for an offside (52nd).

I hope Payet and Thauvin will ask Valbuena for an autograph at the end of the match.

A player who has really marked the history of OM, him

- Vice (@ViceIsFootball) October 21, 2020

“It was a very, very special match for me, it was not easy, in a context like this, to find Olympique de Marseille in the Champions League.

But when we are in the field, we play.

Today, I'm at Olympiakos, I'm very happy, and we played a very good game, ”said the former international.

Valbuena especially allowed his team to win a first match against a direct competitor for second qualifying place, while the favorite Manchester City beat FC Porto (3-1) at home in the other match of this group.

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  • Greece

  • Marseilles

  • OM

  • Olympiacos

  • Soccer

  • Champions League

  • Sport