Arne Slot’s side stayed their course to the Europa Conference League final as Marseille struggled to deal with a first-half injury.
Feyenoord are now unbeaten in four UEFA club competition matches against Marseille (W2 D2) and have lost only one of their 18 European matches this season (W12 D5).
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Feyenoord will face Roma in Tirana in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League final after a solid defensive performance ensured they gained maximum value for their 3-2 win in the first leg.
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Marseille seized the initiative after a cagey start, Payet having one half-chance blocked before sending another just over the bar following an inviting lay-off from Matteo Guendouzi. However, they received a major blow on 33 minutes as Payet was forced off the pitch, the 35-year-old’s mind doubtless going back to the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League final when he was taken off injured during his side’s defeat against Atlético.
Arne Slot’s side started to create half-chances before the break, but sensibly picked their battles after the interval, preserving energy and allowing Marseille to come at them. However, with Payet such a crucial attacking figure, Marseille were unable to make much of the extra time on the ball, a Valentin Rongier effort straight at Ofir Marciano indicative of their inability to ask the right questions of their guests.
Gernot Trauner fired just over from the edge of the box on 67 minutes as Feyenoord momentarily found some attacking bite. Marseille continued to enjoy the bulk of possession but Feyenoord denied them any meaningful openings and might have won the game in added time, Steve Mandanda making a decent save from substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh before Orkun Kökçü sent a long-range effort just over.
Feyenoord forward Cyriel Dessers said , “We showed that it’s not just about good football; we can also battle for a result. Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that we would reach a European final? This is amazing. It still hasn’t sunk in. To get a result in an intimidating stadium like this is incredible. We gave away very few chances, so we deserve this. We’re going to Tirana. We’re in the final!”
Feyenoord defender Gernot Trauner said,“It was a tough battle over 90 minutes. There was a great atmosphere, but it’s cool to play in that sort of atmosphere. We have got better through the season. We’re through to the final now, and of course we want to win it.”
Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi said ,”We’re disappointed as we wanted to get to the final. We gave everything, but we paid for our mistakes in the first leg. We had the squad to win this competition, but that’s football. We pushed, we had some chances, but we couldn’t finish them off. [Losing Payet] hurt us because we had worked on a system with a false nine. We are all really disappointed for him.”
Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli said ,”I’m a little disappointed, because we deserved to win and because we really wanted to go to the final. Once more, we struggled to convert our chances.”
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Europa Conference League Feyenoord Marseille Football Sports Europe