William Saliba and Matteo Guendouzi were eliminated from the Europa League on Thursday after a crucial defeat to Galatasaray.
Arsenal loanees William Saliba and Matteo Guendouzi have had a fair amount of success with their new side in Ligue 1 this season, leading a push for the Champions League places.
The main obstacle to their domestic form lately has been that their matches keep being abandoned.
It’s a different story in the Europa League, where Marseille went into Thursday’s fifth matchday of the group stage without a win to their name.
On the upside, they also hadn’t lost, drawing all four of their opening four matches.
As a result, they knew a win away to Galatasaray would put them right in the mix for the knockout rounds, whilst a defeat would likely send them out – depending on whether Lazio beat Lokomotiv Moscow, which they did.
The Marseille match didn’t start well, with Galatasaray racing into a 2-0 first-half lead. Things only got worse after the break, when Saliba was arguably at fault for Galatasaray’s third goal.
Saliba’s error leading to Feghouli’s goal, but he’s young, playing regularly and will make mistakes. All part of the learning process.
(I had to add a full explanation otherwise idiots will think I hate him)#afc pic.twitter.com/Qd7OXY1syR— Gilles 🇳🇬🏴 (@_Grimanditweets) November 25, 2021
Though Marseille tried to mount a comeback after that, scoring twice in the last half-hour, they also conceded another to lose 4-2.
Friday’s L’Equipe wasn’t complimentary of Saliba, suggesting his lapses in concentration have cost Marseille in their European matches lately. Though they did mention that the player had set a high standard for himself with his strong early performances.
Marseille are now four points off second-place Lazio with one game to go. They could even fall into fourth with a defeat to Lokomotiv Moscow in the final game.
As long as they at least draw with Lokomotiv, Marseille will finish third and drop into the Europa Conference League knockout rounds.