It was an exciting end to Champions League qualification in Group F as Leaders Arsenal slumped to a shock 3-1 away defeat to Olympiakos while Marseille made it through to the last 16 with a 3-2 win over Dortmund.
Arsenal who had already qualified for the knock out stages prior to last night’s match, played the match without its stars as Coach Arsene Wenger took the opportunity to test some of his players.
The night also saw young defender Andre Santos suffer an ankle injury that will keep him sidelined for an unspecified amount of time. Speaking to the press after the match, Wenger also talked about the match and the result stating that he had some regrets.
“I never like to lose and I have some regrets. We must give credit to Olympiakos tonight because they played a very physical game.
“In the first half it was very difficult for us and I don’t think we had the right tactical approach, we played too many short balls.
“We were unlucky to lose [Lukasz] Fabianski and then in the second half at 2-1 it looked like we were going to come back but they were always dangerous and in the end they deserved it.”
The match of the night proved to be the real cracker with French side Marseille making it through to the next round after a last grasp goal from Valbuena in the 87th minute was enough to see Marseille clinch the second and final qualification slot.
One unhappy man was Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp who saw his team surrender a two goal lead in a match they should have won. Speaking to Eurosport after the match Klopp could not come to terms with his sides shock elimination.
“We played very well in the first period. Everything went well, we put much pressure on the opponents,” Klopp said.
“But then everything fell apart.
“The second half was completely different. At 2-1 we had seven points, and at the end it was only four. What a dramatic difference.”
Photo Credit © Ronnie Macdonald
