Olympique Marseille – Salzburg

We are very close to knowing which two teams are going to reach the Europa League final in Lyonnais. In one of the two 1/2-final clashes, Olympique Marseille are facing the bug surprise of the competition this season – Red Bull Salzburg.

Olympique Marseille successfully reached the 1/2-final after beating the German side RB Leipzig in the previous round. It was a difficult tie for the French club, because the first game in Germany ended with a win for the home team – 1-0 for RB Leipzig.

So, it was a tough situation for Rudi Garcia’s Marseille. They knew that they had chances to turn the tie around at the Stade Velodrome, but in same time they had to play at one hundred percent, because of the result in the first leg. And they did.

A fantastic 5-2 win at the Velodrome meant that Olympique Marseille are 1/2-finalists in the tournament. Goals by Sarr, Thauvin, Payet and Sakai plus an own goal from Ilsanker allowed Marseille to get just one step away from the final.

Meanwhile Red Bull Salzburg did some terrific job in the competition so far. They caused a major upset by eliminating one of the favourites of the trophy – Borussia Dortmund. After this the Austrian side did another surprising thing, doing the same with Italian giants Lazio.

And the most impressive thing was the way Lazio were eliminated. After losing the first leg in Rome with 2-4, Salzburg seemed to be very close to leaving the tournament. But a terrific 4-1 win at home allowed them to reach the 1/2-finals.

For sure this is a very unpredictable game. Whoever thinks that Olympique Marseille are strong favourites against Salzburg, shall remember what happened to Borussia Dortmund and Lazio.