Marseille came into this last-four clash with a 100% record of progressing from three previous Europa League and UEFA Cup semi-final appearances, but they faced a La Dea side in a buoyant mood after winning each of their last three games and having already dumped out Liverpool in the quarter-finals.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side were aiming to create more history and took only 11 minutes to break the deadlock through Gianluca Scamacca. He netted his 16th goal of the season in all competitions by bringing a brilliant Teun Koopmeiners pass under control before unleashing a clinical finish past Pau Lopez.
The hosts were back on level terms nine minutes later though, as Chancel Mbemba curled in a superb long-range strike off the inside of the post at the end of a superbly-worked short corner from the right-hand side.
Atalanta were having to withstand a sustained spell of pressure from the hosts, with Matteo Ruggeri blocking Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s effort from Jordan Veretout’s corner.
Aubameyang came even closer to adding his name to the scoresheet with half-time approaching, but the Europa League’s all-time top scorer with 34 goals agonisingly missed out on his 35th after dragging an angled shot wide at the end of a swift counter-attack.
Jean-Louis Gasset’s side pressed forward in search of a second after the restart, and Mbemba looked to make Juan Musso pay for a poor punched clearance, but his diving header sailed over the bar. Skipper Geoffrey Kondogbia then tried his luck with a side-footed attempt that narrowly missed the target.
Gasperini freshened up Atalanta’s forward line by withdrawing Scammacca for Ademola Lookman, who almost made the desired impact with a curling strike that curled just past the post.
This end-to-end contest continued to enthral, and Ismaila Sarr thought he had netted a second for the hosts, reacting quickest to the loose ball after Musso saved Aubameyang’s initial strike. However, the goal was ruled out, with Luis Henrique deemed to be in an offside position in the build-up.
Azzedine Ounahi was introduced by Gasset heading into the final 20 minutes and was inches away from scoring with his first touch, but slipped when pulling the trigger on a long-range effort which cannoned off the bar.
Gasperini will arguably be the happier of the two managers after this hard-earned draw in the south of France, but Gasset will take plenty of confidence from the way his young charges performed today as they prepare for next week’s second leg.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jordan Veretout (Olympique de Marseille)
