Europa League Final 2018: Head-to-Head Record for Marseille vs. Atletico Madrid
Marseille will be up against history when the Ligue 1 club attempts to beat La Liga giants Atletico Madrid in the 2018 UEFA Europa League final in Lyon on Wednesday.
Atletico have won the trophy twice in the last eight years, beating Fulham 2-1 in 2010 and hammering Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in 2012. The latter triumph marked manager Diego Simeone's first trophy in charge of the club, and he has since won the Copa del Rey and La Liga, as well as guiding Los Rojiblancos to a pair of UEFA Champions League finals.
By contrast, Marseille haven't tasted European glory since winning the first Champions League in 1993. Les Olympiens lost in the old UEFA Cup final in 2004, slipping to a 2-0 defeat against Valencia.
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The French club were also beaten in the showpiece match of the same tournament five years earlier when they were hammered 3-0 by a star-studded Parma lineup, featuring Hernan Crespo and Juan Sebastian Veron.
Atleti and Marseille have only met twice previously, according to UEFA.com:
"The clubs' only past fixtures came in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage, Javier Aguirre's Atletico beating Eric Gerets' Marseille 2-1 at home before a goalless draw at the Stade Velodrome. Atletico qualified for the round of 16 as runners-up behind group winners Liverpool, with Marseille finishing third to cross over to the UEFA Cup, in which they reached the quarter-finals."
Worryingly for Marseille, the same source also noted a run of only four wins from 15 matches against Spanish sides in European competitions. By contrast, Atletico have lost just one of 12 against French opposition.
History isn't on Marseille's side, but current form can offer a boost to Rudi Garcia's team, although Atleti's run is just as strong during the last six matches, per WhoScored.com:
- Marseille: WWDLWD
- Atletico Madrid: DDWWLW
Records and history aside, the final offers a significant clash of styles. Whereas Marseille are free-flowing and creative going forward, Atletico are cagey, pragmatic and defensively sound.
The Spanish outfit proved its resolve at the back by earning a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal in the semi-final first leg, despite playing 80 minutes with 10 men. Atleti then held the Gunners, who are the tournament's top scorers with 30 goals, scoreless in the return leg in the Spanish capital.
As usual, Marseille will turn to gifted forward Dimitri Payet to break down a stubborn defence. The Frenchman has been the most prolific provider of goals in the tournament, registering seven assists.
If Payet is given time and space, Marseille have the players to produce a shock. Specifically, free-scoring midfielder Florian Thauvin and winger Lucas Ocampos possess the craft and pace to undermine Atleti.
Simeone will count on keeping Marseille's star attackers under wraps while relying on his own marquee forwards to snatch goals on the break.
Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa scored in each leg of the semi-final, and their combination of movement and strength will be too much for a Marseille defence breached 12 times in the tournament.
Prediction: Marseille 1-3 Atletico Madrid
