Marseille 3 - 0 Babes (390324206)

30877 spectators arrived at Stade du guerrier tigre bleu, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Daniel Davidsson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Beat Hauensteiner and Norberto Zico. Marseille started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. Lineup: Oliveira Graça - Roitinger, Folegani, Gil de Palacio, Iordăchescu - Kemper, Juret, Mantovani, Storkow - Filgueira, Nellen.

A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Babes. They fielded: Sahlborn - Buijs, bin Zulhilmi, 世嵩 (Shisong), Clements, Gosselink - van Kalmthout, Ysbrandy, Peereboom, Konings - Kolff.

Babes clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. Slack defending gave Marseille a chance to take the lead with 6 minutes played, but P. Kemper's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. With 7 minutes gone, J. Kolff suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counterattack by Babes caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. Marseille took the lead 8 minutes into the game by 1 - 0, as V. Iordăchescu elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. Marseille increased the lead as A. Filgueira struck to make the score 2 - 0 after an attack from the left left him unmarked in front of the keeper. Some things can only be learned through experience, and L. Gil de Palacio should take his lesson to heart after nearly gifting Babes a goal with 27 minutes of the match played. It was 2 - 0 at the break. Marseille claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 58 percent.

A. Filgueira wanted to play on, but the Marseille coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 50 minutes into the game by W. Schoovaerts. The bench was restless, and with 60 minutes passed Babes's coach gave B. Terstall the opportunity the player had been hoping for. 王. 世嵩 (Shisong) reluctantly left the field. Babes needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 60 minutes F. Gosselink made way for D. Fiala. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, Babes's R. Clements was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 60 minutes. S. Królak was given a chance to change things around. Babes had no available replacements when R. Peereboom had to leave the game after 65 minutes because of a pulled tendon, leaving the team a man short. P. Kemper left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 75 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. K. Werno was the replacement. B. Terstall of Babes was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Marseille managed to extend their lead to 3 - 0 when W. Schoovaerts cut in neatly from the left side and struck a fine shot past the away team's goalkeeper. By now, the players in Marseille felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. L. Gil de Palacio could have increased the lead after 82 minutes, but his shot hit the post after a nice combination in the middle of the park. C. Hui Wan was called on to replace Marseille's K. Werno after 83 minutes following a nasty collision. Possession in this half belonged to Marseille, who controlled the ball 62 percent of the time.

Most important Marseille player was V. Juret. A. Folegani on the other hand, had a terrible day. J. Kolff performed admirably for Babes. On the other hand, H. bin Zulhilmi's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 0.