Europa League: Angel Di Maria, poison for OM and French football
Marcelo Bielsa, Lucho Gonzalez, Lucas Ocampos… Olympique de Marseille have always loved the Argentinians, and vice versa. More than their sky and white standards, the two peoples share a distinct grinta and fervor, which naturally bring them together, like two sides of a magnet. But one Argentinian escapes the rule: Angel Di Maria.
And for good reason: the former PSG player has gotten used to shining against Marseille, and against French teams in general. Whether it is Nantes or Toulouse in the European Cup, or the Blues in the World Cup: all have suffered the law of the left-handed Rosario. When it comes time to challenge Angel Di Maria’s Benfica Lisbon, Thursday April 11, in the quarter-final first leg of the Europa League, OM are therefore warned.
If Angel Di Maria takes part – as expected – in the quarter-final first leg and then the return leg next Thursday, Olympique de Marseille will become the team he has faced the most in his career, tied with FC Barcelona (19 matches) , and ahead of Olympique Lyonnais (18 matches). In the meantime, OM are already one of the Argentinian’s favorite prey, who scored five times and delivered six assists against the Phocaeans. All for twelve victories, four draws and only one small defeat.
Often in the shadow of Ibrahimovic, then Neymar and Mbappé at PSG, Angel Di Maria has always been present in the PSG-OM Classics. From his second, in 2016, he offered victory to his team at the Vélodrome, by scoring the winning goal (2-1). Marseille supporters have undoubtedly also not forgotten the meeting of March 17, 2019, at the Parc des Princes, which saw Di Maria make up for Neymar’s absence with two assists and a goal for a 3-1 victory.
But it’s not just OM that Angel Di Maria likes to torment. Since leaving PSG, the Argentinian has made a specialty of single-handedly eliminating French clubs that stand in his way. Last season, he shattered Nantes’ dream in the round of 32 of the Europa League, with Juventus. After snatching a draw in Turin in the first leg (1-1), the Canaries were defeated in their nest, swept aside 3-0 by Juventus with three goals scored… Angel Di Maria.
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