‘At the Vélodrome, we’re tigers. Away from home, we’re cats’ – Jean-Louis Gasset criticises Marseille’s away form after Europa League exit | OneFootball

There are two versions of Olympique de Marseille this season: the team that plays at the Vélodrome and the team that plays away from home. Based on home form alone, OM would be third in Ligue 1 this season but the reality is that they are ninth. That is because on away form, Marseille are 17th in Ligue 1, above only Clermont Foot.

In all competitions, Marseille have won just four away games all season: two in Ligue 1, one in the dying stages in the Coupe de France against minnows Thionville and one in the UEFA Europa League against AEK Athens. Once again, we saw both sides of this Marseille team in the two-legged Europa League tie against Atalanta.

OM headed to Bergamo on Thursday night tied with Atalanta (1-1) after a hard-earned draw at the Vélodrome one week earlier. However, they were outplayed in the return leg away from home and exited the competition at the semi-final stage after a 3-0 defeat (4-1, agg.).

For interim manager Jean-Louis Gasset, it was an encounter that epitomises Marseille’s season. “It’s the story of the season – at the Vélodrome, we’re tigers. Away from home, we’re cats,” he told Canal Plus following Les Phocéens’ elimination from the Europa League.

He added, “My feelings? Disappointment and incomprehension. Last week, we showed a different image. Tonight, we showed no aggression. They dominated us, won all of the duels and wanted it more than us. It’s often away from home that this is the case. I thought that in the semi-final of a European competition, we would be up for the event but we weren’t.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle