In L’Équipe’s profile of Marseille defender Sead Kolašinac and his growing importance at the club, the former Arsenal man’s close-range miss in the Champions League Group Stage match against Tottenham Hotspur is notably revisited.
With the team needing a win to go through to the last 16, the Bosnian was found by Cengiz Ünder with a cross to the back post, but was only able to head it wide. Igor Tudor’s men would go on to concede a last-second goal against the North Londoners which saw them crash out of Europe entirely, amid an episode of miscommunication given the players were unaware a draw was enough for a place in the Europa League.
Questioned by L’Équipe, his teammate Jonathan Clauss describes his fellow full-back as “reliable” , and that he showed the strength of his character in the way that he bounced back from the miss. Club president Pablo Longoria goes even further, explaining that he met him at the training ground and that the Bosnian international told him “I haven’t been able to sleep for three nights because of it.”
In the final match before the World Cup, Kolašinac would score the winner against Monaco to kick-start a run that would see him become a crucial part of Ligue 1’s second-placed team – to the point that he has been offered a contract extension until 2025.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin
