Published
2025-12-10
Millimeters separate Union from an incredible comeback against Marseille
Tough. Very tough. Matchday 6 in the Champions League could have turned out so differently. After an hour, we seemed beaten against Marseille, but an incredible comeback was in the air. Khalaili brought us back into the game with the goal to reduce the deficit, and twice the equalizer seemed certain… only for it to be ruled out by mere millimeters of offside. Once again, we deserved more, but were left empty-handed.
The match had started excellently with an early lead for our Unionists. Rob Schoofs played the ball wide to Anan Khalaili, who struck powerfully in the 5th minute to make it 1-0.
Marseille quickly showed their intentions. After our goal, the opponent immediately launched a few threatening counterattacks, and in the 15th minute, they were already level. Scherpen saved Aubameyang’s shot, but Paixao was there to tap in the rebound: 1-1.
After the equalizer, chances came at both ends. A few crosses from goalscorer Khalaili were not precise, while Schoofs and Rodriguez each had opportunities, but the ball did not find the net. On the other side, Greenwood found the way to goal and slotted the ball past Scherpen. 1-2 for the visitors, and that’s how we went into halftime trailing.
Our Unionists came out of the dressing room with a clear goal: to get the equalizer on the board as quickly as possible. Schoofs found Rodriguez in the box, but he was stopped by a strong defense. Suddenly, things moved incredibly fast at the other end, unfortunately not in our favor. Greenwood was played through and calmly finished to make it 1-3.
Our Unionists kept fighting. Boufal missed the chance to make it 2-3 after a good cross from David, but in the 71st minute, the goal finally came. Khalaili, playing an incredible match, fired in a superb shot to score the second goal: 2-3. Belief in a comeback grew by the minute.
Suddenly, everything happened very fast. In the 76th minute, Mac Allister seemed to set the stadium on fire with the 3-3… or not. The VAR saw a very narrow offside, and the score was reverted to 2-3.
In the 90th minute, déjà vu: what had happened in the 76th minute happened again. David fired in the equalizer, and the stadium exploded. But once again, the goal was ruled out. Yes, for millimeters of offside. We came so close, but it wasn’t meant to be. The comeback was in the air, but in the end, the final whistle blew on a 2-3 defeat.