Marseille 0-0 Feyenoord (agg: 2-3): Rotterdammers freeze out OM
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Article summary
Arne Slot's side stayed their course to the UEFA Europa Conference League final as Marseille struggled to deal with a first-half injury to their creative director Dimitri Payet.
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Feyenoord will face Roma in Tirana in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League final after a solid defensive performance ensured they gained maximum value for their 3-2 win in the first leg.
Key moments
22' Payet steers fine effort over for Marseille
33' OM's talismanic No10 is taken off injured
67' Trauner fires just over for Feyenoord
Match in brief: Marseille run out of ideas
Marseille seized the initiative after a cagey start, Payet having one half-chance blocked before sending another just over the bar following an inviting lay-off from Matteo Guendouzi. However, they received a major blow on 33 minutes as Payet was forced off the pitch, the 35-year-old's mind doubtless going back to the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League final when he was taken off injured during his side's defeat against Atlético.
Arne Slot's side started to create half-chances before the break, but sensibly picked their battles after the interval, preserving energy and allowing Marseille to come at them. However, with Payet such a crucial attacking figure, Marseille were unable to make much of the extra time on the ball, a Valentin Rongier effort straight at Ofir Marciano indicative of their inability to ask the right questions of their guests.
Gernot Trauner fired just over from the edge of the box on 67 minutes as Feyenoord momentarily found some attacking bite. Marseille continued to enjoy the bulk of possession but Feyenoord denied them any meaningful openings and might have won the game in added time, Steve Mandanda making a decent save from substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh before Orkun Kökçü sent a long-range effort just over.
Ian Holyman, Marseille reporter
This was a game divided not into halves, but thirds. In the first half-hour, Marseille looked capable of overturning their first-leg deficit with Payet on the pitch; in the other two thirds, they huffed and puffed but couldn't blow Feyenoord's door down without their creative star. As in Rotterdam chances came and went, and though the visitors defended resolutely, OM have only themselves to blame for their exit.
Derek Brookman, Feyenoord reporter
Incredible. In the end, a surprisingly comfortable evening for Feyenoord, if a semi-final second leg can ever be described so. Although they created almost no clear chances, they didn’t have to. Excellent defending, especially from Trauner and Marcos Senesi, kept Marseille at bay without too much stress. What a debut season in Rotterdam for Slot!
Reaction
Cyriel Dessers, Feyenoord forward: "We showed that it's not just about good football; we can also battle for a result. Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that we would reach a European final? This is amazing. It still hasn't sunk in. To get a result in an intimidating stadium like this is incredible. We gave away very few chances, so we deserve this. We're going to Tirana. We're in the final!”
Guus Til, Feyenoord midfielder: “I have to guard against celebrating too much now, because we haven’t won anything yet. Of course, I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but in the end it’s about winning the final."
Gernot Trauner, Feyenoord defender: “It was a tough battle over 90 minutes. There was a great atmosphere, but it’s cool to play in that sort of atmosphere. We have got better through the season. We’re through to the final now, and of course we want to win it."
Matteo Guendouzi, Marseille midfielder: "We're disappointed as we wanted to get to the final. We gave everything, but we paid for our mistakes in the first leg. We had the squad to win this competition, but that's football. We pushed, we had some chances, but we couldn't finish them off. [Losing Payet] hurt us because we had worked on a system with a false nine. We are all really disappointed for him."
Jorge Sampaoli, Marseille coach: "I'm a little disappointed, because we deserved to win and because we really wanted to go to the final. Once more, we struggled to convert our chances."
Key stats
- This was the first time Marseille had failed to score in 11 UEFA club competition matches; they hit two or more goals in six of their previous seven UEFA Europa Conference League this season
- Feyenoord are now unbeaten in four UEFA club competition matches against Marseille (W2 D2) and have lost only one of their 18 European matches this season (W12 D5)
- Arne Slot's side are unbeaten in their 12 matches in the UEFA Conference League competition, group stage to final (W8 D4)
- This was Feyenoord's first clean sheet in 11 UEFA Europa Conference League matches
- Cyriel Dessers remains the top scorer in this season's competition with ten goals, one clear of Roma's Tammy Abraham
Line-ups
Marseille: Mandanda; Rongier, Saliba, Kamara, Peres; Guendouzi, Gueye (Lirola 46), Gerson; Harit (Ünder 80), Payet (Milik 33), Dieng (Bakambu 62)
Feyenoord: Marciano; Geertruida, Trauner, Senesi, Malacia; Til (Hendrix 81), Aursnes, Orkun Kökçü; Nelson (Jahanbakhsh 88), Dessers, Sinisterra (Linssen 74)
Where is the 2022 Europa Conference League final?
Tirana's National Arena (Arena Kombëtare) will stage the final on Wednesday 25 May.
The winners gain a place in the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.