Olympique de Marseille’s UEFA Europa League quarterfinal clash with SL Benfica on Thursday (3 p.m. ET on Paramount+) is the latest in a long line of big European nights for the French soccer powerhouse. OM are famed as the only French club to have won the UEFA Champions League despite Paris Saint-Germain’s best attempts but Les Phoceens also reached the 2018 UEL final.
This is Marseille’s second European last eight appearances since that loss to Atletico Madrid following on from the 2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League semifinals. Leading the charge for the Southerners is a veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has nine goals to lead the Europa League scoring charts this season on top of being the competition’s all-time top scorer.
“I am very happy, but it is not an end in itself,” said the OM talisman exclusively to CBS Sports. “I really want to continue helping the team, especially in this competition. We have had a very good run and we have the desire and motivation to go even further because we are aware of the importance of European competitions for a historic club like OM, which has already won the Champions League.
“It is a competition that has always worked well for me at all the clubs I have been lucky enough to play for. Once again this season, I managed to be decisive by scoring a brace in our first match and then a hat-trick against Ajax. It is very satisfying to be top scorer in this competition, but I hope to continue my good form against Benfica.”
