The fate of French clubs in the Europa League looks compromised on Thursday February 15, after the first leg play-offs. Rennes was swept away by AC Milan (3-0) while Marseille was caught at the last minute by Shakhtar Donetsk (2-2).
The evening began with a first disappointment, that of Olympique de Marseille, who believed they had a precious victory against Shakhtar Donetsk. Twice, the Marseillais led, and twice, the Ukrainians equalized straight away, snatching a draw in added time (90th 3).
Faced with a Donetsk team forced to play “at home” in Hamburg due to the war raging in their country, the Phocaeans, uninspired, recorded a poor performance which was, according to their coach Gennaro Gattuso, “the photograph of this team and this season.”
The bill was even tougher for Rennes, undefeated in nine matches at national level, but who fell heavily at San Siro, against AC Milan. The Bretons gave in to the Milanese, led by the Blues Theo Hernandez, Mike Maignan and Olivier Giroud. Beaten 3-0, they see their chances of qualifying seriously damaged, a week before the return match at Roazhon Park.
Lens hooked and Toulouse defeated
The Lensois, who remained silent against Friborg (0-0), will have to win in Germany to reach the eighth, and continue a European adventure that began very well in the Champions League.
On the French side, the smile could have come from Lisbon, where Toulouse long believed to have achieved its feat. The TFC, without complexes, showed its strength of character to return to 1-1 but two penalty goals from Angel Di Maria, including one at the end of added time (90th, 8th), allowed the Lisbon team to win and to take an option before returning to the Stadium.
