Marseille Crashes Out Of The Champions League As Gouiri Laments Missed Chances

Marseille’s Champions League campaign ended in major disappointment as Roberto De Zerbi’s side lost 3-0 away to Club Brugge, a result that, combined with Benfica’s 4-2 victory over Real Madrid, knocked the Ligue 1 club out before the play-offs.

The outcome hit especially hard because Opta’s supercomputer had given Marseille a 96% chance of securing a top-24 spot before the final league-phase round, yet the defeat means the team’s European run stops at this stage despite that favourable projection.

Brugge seized control almost immediately, scoring twice within the opening 11 minutes, the fastest time the Belgian side have ever reached two goals in a single Champions League match, and that early burst left Marseille chasing the game from the outset

and under constant pressure.

Marseille responded by attacking relentlessly and finished with nine shots on target, with only one previous Champions League outing on record, the 12-shot performance against MSK Zilina in November 2010, seeing more efforts on goal, yet their chances produced just 0.99 expected goals, reflecting limited shot quality.

Amine Gouiri voiced anger after the final whistle, telling Canal+: "We missed our opportunity. We didn't want to rely on the results of other teams. We conceded three goals and that cost us qualification. The outcome is cruel because we missed our chance. With our performance, we don't deserve anything. "

Defeat tonight.#CLUOM | | pic.twitter.com/XcZ7Lu26JBOlympique de Marseille 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@OM_English) January 28, 2026

Leonardo Balerdi described a painful evening, stating: "It's hard to digest this evening because we came with a lot of emotion,We didn't do things well. They started stronger, and now we have to hold our heads high. It comes down to the details and I think we paid the price for that. We need to refocus on the league. We have other things to do. We have to do it for the club and our supporters. "

With European hopes over, attention now shifts back to domestic duties, as Marseille sit third in Ligue 1, seven points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, and De Zerbi’s squad must respond quickly to keep pressure in the title race and meet expectations from the club and supporters.