Speaking to RMC Sport, Matteo Guendouzi admits Marseille found it ‘difficult’ to penetrate Tottenham Hotspur’s disciplined defensive rearguard before losing 2-0 in their Champions League group-stage opener in North London.
Spurs’ match against L’OM on Wednesday must have felt like a North London derby to some.
Guendouzi and Nuno Tavares started, while another former Arsenal man – Sead Kolasinac – came off the bench in the second half. And the presence of many a Gunners misfit in the Marseille XI will only make that hard-fought 2-0 victory all the sweeter for those of a Tottenham persuasion, Richarlison opening his Spurs account with a trademark bullet header before repeating the trick minutes later.
“In the first half, we were above them (the better team,” sighs Guendouzi, pointing to Chancel Mbemba’s straight red card early in the second half as a game-changing moment.
“We were very good. We should perhaps have shot or crossed a little more. But, in terms of intensity, we were very good. We monopolized the ball, we were aggressive and we recovered many balls.”
RICHARLISON SCORES TWICE AS TOTTENHAM BEAT MARSEILLE 2-0
For all of their quality in possession during the first 45, Marseille had very little to show for their efforts. Tottenham’s tight-knit, three-man backline succeeded in keeping Igor Tudor’s Ligue 1 pacesetters at arms’ length.
“They defended very deep,” Guendouzi adds.
“We know very well that they have a very compact line of five and a line of four. They defended very low. So it was difficult to pierce them and find situations of three against three or two against two.”
Much has been made of Antonio Conte’s less-than-impressive European record. He suffered group-stage exits twice at Inter Milan and once at Juventus. His Chelsea side, meanwhile, was swept away by a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona back in 2018.
As such, a hard-fought 2-0 win over could prove to be invaluable. A platform upon which success can be built.
Leave a Reply