Marseille slump to last-gasp defeat to Atalanta

MARSEILLE, France :Olympique de Marseille’s chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League took a major hit when they slumped to a last-gasp 1-0 defeat at home against Atalanta in painful fashion on Wednesday.

Lazar Samardzic netted the only goal in the last minute with a superb strike from outside the box at the end of a counter attack while Marseille players were screaming for a penalty for an Ederson handball.

The result left Roberto de Zerbi’s team with three points from four games in the elimination zone in 25th place in the 36-team league, while Atalanta moved up to 16th on seven points.

Atalanta imposed their rhythm early on with crisp combinations and relentless pressing, but Charles De Ketelaere’s 14th-minute penalty — awarded after Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli brought down Nikola Krstovic in the box — was saved.

Marseille dominated the second half and thought they would be awarded a penalty when Ederson handled the ball in the box while trying to bring it under control.

On the ensuing counter attack, Samardzic curled a superb kick into the top corner, leaving De Zerbi fuming on the touchline, trying to show a replay of the handball to referee Jose Maria Sanchez.

(Writing by Julien Pretot; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)