Since the arrival of Jean-Louis Gasset, Marseille recorded five consecutive wins, with a 4-0 thrashing of Spanish Villarreal being the most memorable one. But that same team, led by former Marseille coach Marcelino gave the Frenchmen their first defeat and nearly embarrassed them. Luckily for Marseille, their keeper Pau Lopez made some great saves and prevented his team from overtime. Villarreal came close to pulling off a sensation, winning 3-1 in the return leg on their own turf, narrowly missing out on taking the match into extra time. Marcelino Toral started the season on the Marseille bench but left when hooligans began causing problems. He took over Villarreal in a tough moment and lifted them up. When he returned to the Velodrome with the Yellow Submarine seeking revenge, they played a terrible match without a shot on target, conceding four goals, and it seemed all over. However, Villarreal decided not to spend Thursday evening taking a stroll but to give it their all and try to make a miracle happen. A four-goal difference from the first leg is not an objective reflection of the quality difference between the two teams. If there is any difference at all.Boosted by their big 4-0 win in the first leg, the guests mixed up their team in the rematch and almost ruined everything. Villarreal started furiously and created chance after chance. Serlot missed three in the first 20 minutes, threats came from Gedes, Coquelin, and after half an hour, they deservedly took the lead. Capoue headed in a cross from Kika Femenia. By halftime, Capoue missed two more chances and Marseille could be content with just a minimal deficit at the break…The visiting coach saw that things were getting serious, so Harit and Obameyang came on at halftime, but Villarreal found their rhythm and kept grinding. Hope ignited in the 54th minute when Serlot scored a brilliant goal. The Norwegian has been playing exceptionally well lately.. A tremendous pressure from the Spaniards followed, with Pau Lopez making crucial saves in goal for the guests, but in the 86th minute, he too capitulated. Mosquera’s header ignited the stands and brought Villarreal one step closer to a miracle. Panic creeped in for the guests as they defended desperately, and Mandi and Morales missed great chances in injury time to take the match into extra time. They were punished shortly after as Clauss scored with an assist from Obameyang, and Marseille escaped. With such fluctuations, they won’t go far…UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE – ROUND OF 16Second legThursday Slavia Praha – AC Milan 1-3 (0-2)/Jurasek 85 – Pulisic 34, Loftus-Cheek 36, Leao 45+6/AC Milan win 7-3 on aggregateVillareal – Olympique Marseille 3-1 (1-0)/Capoue 32, Sorloth 54, Mosquera 88 – Clauss 90+4/Marseille win 5-3 on aggregateRangers – Benfica 0-1 (0-0)/Rafa SIlva 66/Benfica win 3-2 on aggregateWest Ham – Freiburg 5-0 (2-0)/Paqueta 9, Bowen 32, Creswell 52, Kudus 77, 85/West Ham win 5-1 on aggregate23.00: (1.20) Leverkusen (7.25) Qarabag (12.0)23.00: (1.30) Liverpool (5.90) Sparta Praha (9.00)23.00: (1.80) Brighton (3.60) Roma (4.60)23.00: (2.00) Atalanta (3.50) Sporting (3.70)***odds are subject to change***
