The tocopillano started in Olympique’s 1-2 loss to Brest. This, together with Lens’ victory, sealed that Igor Tudor’s side would finish third in Ligue 1. Before the game, Sánchez received his club’s best player of the season award.
Olympique de Marseille will finish Ligue 1 2022-2023 in third place in the standings. With an appointment, which has already been defined, after the results that occurred this Saturday. At home, they lost 1-2 with Brest. Alexis Sánchez played the full 90 minutes and couldn’t change the destination of the game.
It was a mixed day for the Tocopillano, because before the match, he received the award for the best Olympian player of the season, in his first campaign immersed in the most popular team in the country. He received acclaim from fans illustrating the desire of the Chilean team to remain in the institution. In addition, Marseille commemorated the 30th anniversary of its Champions League title. It is the first and only French club to be European champion (in 1993).
Igor Tudor’s team entered the game with the sole objective of aspiring to second place, and thus qualify directly for the group stage of the next Champions League. Of course, it also took a misstep from Lens, the second in the table.
Sánchez started the match more hooked, in the leading line (charged on the left), due to the ownership of the Portuguese Vitinha. Despite the fact that OM always offer an offensive proposal, in the first half, it was difficult for them to find the key to the game, against a Brest team who were not playing anything relevant. Likewise, he had nothing to lose. The first clear option for the hosts came in the 32nd minute, with a high shot from Vitinha, which ended up coming out for the second half.
The entry of Nuno Tavares through the center forward has allowed Alexis Sánchez to be in the position where he has been mainly in the campaign with Tudor: nine. However, this did not lead to a substantial improvement in the attack at Olympique. In addition, deep down, he is exposed to Brest counter-attacks. At 57′ the surprise came, because the visit opened the scoring. A shot from Hugo Magnetti deflected off Mbemba and knocked off balance Pau López, who couldn’t respond to the shot.
At the same time, Lens easily beat Ajaccio, so Marseille’s fate is doomed no matter what at the Stade Vélodrome. With more enthusiasm than sharpness, OM went for the comeback in the final stretch of the engagement. Alexis didn’t come on as he wasn’t assisted by his teammates either. Thanks to the set ball, they found the equality. At 75′, a header from Mbemba, after a corner from Veretout, brought the score to 1-1.
However, the tie was short-lived. Also on set pieces, Brest struck again. At 81′, Mahdi Camara sent the ball to the far post of Pau López to bring the score to 2-1. The return option was exclusively for honour, as Marseille already knew their final league position.
Then, Sánchez’s team will finish in third place, which allows them to access the preliminary phase of the Champions League. They will need to play in the playoffs to qualify for the group round. The first two, PSG (champion, by drawing 1-1 with Strasbourg) and Lens (second, after beating Ajaccio 3-0), enter directly among the 32 who will compete in the biggest interclub competition in Europe. OM will end their participation in Ligue 1 next weekend, by traveling to Ajaccio. Just to comply.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
