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Marseille boss Tudor looks to make a point against Sporting in Champions League

By Paul Myers - RFI
Europe AP - Daniel Cole
OCT 4, 2022 LISTEN
AP - Daniel Cole

Marseille coach Igor Tudor urged his players to live with the pressure of high stress games ahead of Tuesday night's crucial third match in the group stages of this season's Champions League.

Marseille go into the clash at the Vélodrome propping up Group D after consecutive defeats to Tottenham and Eintracht Frankfurt.

They welcome pool leaders Sporting who have racked up five goals in their victories over Frankfurt and Tottenham.

"They are a good side with good players in every position," said Tudor on the eve of the game.

"I've no intention of easing the pressure on my players ... it comes with the territory when you are playing for the biggest prizes.

"We just have to play our game, concentrate and make sure we don't make silly little errors and take at least a point."

Praise
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte hailed Marseille's performance after the 2-0 defeat in north London.

Both he and Tudor agreed one of the key moments occurred just after half-time when, with the tie still goalless, the Marseille defender Chancel Mbemba was handed a red card for a last-man foul on Son Heung-min. 

Mbemba, who is likely to start in the Marseille line-up on Tuesday night, called on his teammates to focus on the 12 points available in the four remaining games rather than the six points that have been squandered.

"We've failed in two matches but we can't give up," said the Democratic Republic of Congo international.

"We're doing really well in Ligue 1 and we want do as well in the Champions League."

Sanctions
The match will be played behind closed doors at the Vélodrome after competition organisers Uefa decided to punish Marseille over the lax security that led to clashes between their fans and supporters of Eintracht Frankfurt before the game on 13 September.

"Of course we will miss the supporters," said Tudor. "And wherever they are watching, I hope that we will make them happy with our performance."

A point would at least arrest a dreadful sequence in the Champions League. Marseille have won only one game in 17 matches in the tournament stretching back a decade.

"We haven't played badly in the Champions League," added Tudor. We've had good performances against two very strong teams."

Elsewhere in the competition on Tuesday, in Group C, Inter host the Spanish league leaders Barcelona while in Group A, Ajax entertain Napoli.

Also in Group A, Liverpool welcome the Scottish club Rangers to Anfield.

Rangers lie bottom of the pool following defeats against Ajax and Napoli.

“We know the challenge that we face against a really good side," said Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

"It's going to be very difficult. It's a team who perform really well in the Champions League. They've been in three finals in the last five years, and I think they're one of the best teams in Europe."

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