Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was in tears as Marseille missed out on the Europa League final (Canal+)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was in tears after Marseille missed out on a place in the Europa League final on Thursday evening.
Marseille’s Europa League semi final tie was finely poised following their 1-1 draw against Atalanta in the first leg last week, but the Serie A club ran out 3-0 winners in the return fixture on Thursday evening.
Atalanta, who knocked out Liverpool at the quarter-final stage, will now play Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final on May 22.
Leverkusen sealed a 4-2 win on aggregate against Roma but two late goals from Xabi Alonso’s side salvaged a draw on Thursday night to extend their incredible unbeaten run to 49 games.
Leverkusen now have the longest unbeaten run in the history of European football, overtaking Benfica’s record of 48 games unbeaten in all competitions between December 1963 and February 1965.
Aubameyang, meanwhile, has enjoyed an impressive season for Marseille with 27 goals in all competitions for the French club.
However, the former Arsenal captain was reduced to tears after the final whistle on Thursday evening after Marseille’s defeat to Atalanta meant they missed out on reaching the Europa League final.
Aubameyang’s Europa League campaign will not end without a personal trophy, however, as he is highly likely to finish as the tournament’s top goalscorer this season with 10 goals in the competition.
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Speaking after his side’s defeat to Atalanta, Marseille head coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, said: ‘It’s incomprehensible to go from a week where we competed with them in aggression and desire, then to have been eaten up in aggression this evening.
‘We made 2 or 3 mistakes on this match, while they were very aggressive when they did not have the ball. In terms of aggression, we were below.
‘We tried. We brought in attackers to get back to 2-1, but we didn’t get there.
‘We must not forget what we did. We are disappointed because we dreamed, but we must not not forget what we have done.
‘It is important that Marseille is in the European Cup next season, and I ask for sacred unity from everyone.’
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