UCL: 10-man Marseille fall to Sporting

Marseille's six-game winning streak comes to an end in the UEFA Champions League as De Zerbi's men fell to a 2-1 defeat to Sporting - having to play the second half down to ten men after Emerson's sending off. Igor Paixao did well to open the scoring with a lovely curled finish, before second half efforts from Catamo and Santos completed a comeback for the Portuguese hosts.

De Zerbi's men had to take their time to settle into proceedings, with Sporting CP trying to press Les Phocéens high up the pitch and Leo Balerdi committing an early foul on former OM man Luis Suarez. Yet eventually Igor Paixao was released down the left side but blasted his strike just over the bar - and he would soon enough get on the scoresheet. Bringing down the ball in the left channel, the Brazilian drove to the edge of the box and this time unleashed a perfectly curled strike past Silva for his third goal in the UEFA Champions League this season (13').

After the hosts pushed for the equaliser, a great combination between Paixao, Aubameyang and Greenwood saw the Englishman strike but not test the goalkeeper. OM had to be careful in possession, at points guilty of slowing down too much at the back before Trincao intercepted but once again Les Phocéens would recover well. Rulli was then well-positioned to save Goçalves's strike from close range as De Zerbi.

OM had a penalty shout just before the end of the first half, with Emerson going down after some contact from Maximiliano Araújo. The referee consulted VAR to overturn the decision and hand a second yellow to the former West Ham man. In the second half Marseille struggled to keep the ball, Rulli was on hand to save from Gonçalves as Sporting suffocated Les Phocéens of time and space in the final third as Aubameyang cut an increasingly isolated figure up front. Sporting then managed to level proceedings after Gonçalves sent through a freshly introduced Geny Catamo who slotted below Rulli (68'). The Portuguese side then grabbed a late goal when Alisson Santos drove inside the box and a wicked deflection off Pavard saw the hosts go in front for the first time, in painful fashion for OM (88').

THE STAT:

Emerson’s red card in first half stoppage time was Marseille’s second earliest red card in UEFA Champions League history, after Dimitri Payet against Borussia Dortmund in December 2013 (33rd minute).