The Marseille coach regretted on Monday having to play Tuesday’s game against Sporting without the presence of fans at the Vélodrome Stadium, which could contradict the “experience” of the Lisbon team in the Champions League soccer.
Igor Tudor, a former Croatian international, acknowledged that the support of the fans “will be missed” by the French club, which was sanctioned with a match behind closed doors, to be played against Sporting, due to the behavior of the spectators in the reception to Eintracht Frankfurt (the Germans win 1-0).
“It’s a shame we can’t count on our supporters as they will miss us, but that didn’t change our preparations much.
For Tudor, the Marseille fans would be important to help the team improve the delicate situation in which they find themselves in Group D of the ‘Champions’, last place, after having suffered two defeats, since they also fell at the Tottenham stadium , by 2-0. .
“Morning [terça-feira] we can’t make mistakes. In the two previous games we were even at the level of the rivals, who are teams from big championships, like the German and the English. I think we deserved more.”
The Marseille coach would like to transfer his performance in the French League to European competition, in which he remains in second place and has not yet lost, unlike Sporting, who lead Group D, with two wins, but remain in the seventh place. in the Portuguese championship.
“[O Sporting] It is an important team, with very good players in all positions. He has a good experience in ‘Champions’ accumulated last season [na qual atingiu os oitavos de final]which will undoubtedly be of great help”, he pointed out.
Tudor is also hoping to build on the experience of some players acquired this season, such as striker Alexis Sánchez and defenders Eric Bailly and Chancel Mbemba, even calling the former FC Porto player “super important to the team” despite revealing he will do so. be a holder
Mbemba admitted that “the work done did not pay off in the first two games”, but warned that the French team will not “lower its arms”, as it has a “winning mentality”, promising to “carry the good dynamics of the team”. championship to the Champions League”. “.
The 28-year-old defender preferred not to reveal the content of the conversations with Tudor about the next rival, and limited himself to saying that both know “Sporting” very well, which he described as “a great team”, despite having suffered some mishaps in internal competition.
“There are many differences. It is not in the first three places, as usual, it is lower. But, although he is not at the top of the Portuguese championship, he already has six points in the Champions League. It will be a difficult match for both of them,” he defended.
Marseille hosts Sporting on Tuesday, at the Vélodrome Stadium, in a match corresponding to the third day of Group D of the Champions League, starting at 5:45 p.m. (Lisbon time), which will be directed by the Italian referee Davide Massa.
Source: TSF
