Mathieu Valbuena Keeps Olympique De Marseille Champion's League Hopes Alive

With some help from the right foot of substitute Mathieu Valbuena, Olympique De Marseille have seen themselves into the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League for the second year in a row.

A last-second win over German side Borussia Dortmund has launched Marseille into the knockout stage by taking second place in Group F.

Things looked dire for l’OM when goals by Poland midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski and Germany defender Mats Hummels had put Dortmund 2-0 up early in the first-half.

At the same time, Olympiakos had already won 3-1 over Arsenal. The Gunners had already secured qualification and were resting many of their starters.

Winger Loic Remy gave Marseille some hope going into the half, scoring OM’s first goal in first half stoppage time.

After the second half whistle blew, twenty more minutes of futility continued for the French side until Andrew Ayew found the equalizer in the 85^th minute.

At that point, the Greeks were still barely five minutes from qualification, but two minutes later Valbuena launched a 25 yard strike to put Marseille ahead, launching them into the next round of top-level European football competition. Valbuena had been substituted into the game in the 73^rd minute for Remy.

With the Marseille win, Olympiakos dropped to third in the group and will continue European play amongst the final 32 teams in the Europa League.

In post-game interviews, OM Manager Didier Deschamps was relieved, saying, “Football is an amazing sport.” Deschamps also noted this win as one of the most defining in Marseille’s long history as a club (Agence France-Presse).

For the time being, OM’s focus will return to domestic competition, when they return to the Stade Velodrome to host Bordeaux on December 12^th.