Olympique de Marseille will hope to avoid a repeat performance as they meet FC Zenit St. Petersburg for a second time in the UEFA Cup Round of 16.
The two sides were drawn together at the same stage in the 2005/06 competition, with Zenit prevailing 2-1 on aggregate following a 1-0 win in France and a 1-1 draw on home soil.
Andrei Arshavin - who is still at Zenit – scored the winner in the first leg, while Aleksandr Kerzhakov put the 2007 Russian champions ahead in the return before Frédéric Déhu equalised.
Kerzhakov subsequently left the club for Sevilla FC, where he won the 2006/07 UEFA Cup. However, he returned to Russia join FC Dinamo Moskva for a €7m fee on 25 February.
Of the current Marseille squad, Taye Taiwo, Wilson Oruma, Mamadou Niang and Samir Nasri played in the first leg while goalkeeper Cédric Carrasso was an unused substitute.
Oruma was suspended for the second leg along with Franck Ribéry, who was sent off in the first leg in France. Deputising for the injured Fabien Barthez, Carrasso endured a grim evening. At fault for letting Kerzhakov's strike go in, he was dismissed in the dying seconds for a foul on the goalscorer.
Taiwo, Niang and Nasri also played in the second leg, as did Lorik Cana.
Marseille's then coach Jean Fernandez missed the second leg after being suspended along with his assistant Albert Emon for comments made to the referee after the game in France.
No comments:
Post a Comment