The former Marseillais, Mathieu Valbuena, has been playing in the Greek first division since 2019, under the colors of Olympiakos. The Frenchman therefore knows PAOK Salonika well, opponents of OM this Thursday in the Europa League Conference. It details in the columns of Provence: “We made it 1-1 at home, after beating them 1-0 in the first leg. They have improved a lot between the two. In the first half, at home, we could have been down 2 or 3-0. We were better in the second half, without creating too many chances. It’s an unspectacular team, without a big name, without a player who impresses you. But it’s solid. They have two, three experienced players, with the faults of their age, that is to say a little slow.
The former French international is in any case no worries for the Marseillais who should go to the next round according to him: “individually, OM are clearly superior and should have no problem, but they can confuse you. Honestly, I don’t see OM being eliminated, but football is sometimes unexpected. The names were louder in Basel and I think the Swiss team was better. But I only see PAOK against Greek teams. In the European Cup, it will be different, for the level of adversity against them but also for their motivation. And since January, they are really difficult to play.
