Marseille only reached the quarter-finals by scoring a goal in the extra-time in their match against the Amsterdam side. Ajax leveled the score on aggregate as the regular time ended in 2-1. Since that was exactly the same result as last week the teams had to play extra time. Ajax were the more dominant side but clear cut chances could not be seen. Marseille didn't look very threatening but scored a decisive second goal nonetheless. With ten minutes left on the clock it was all over for Ajax as they needed another two to go through. All in all Ajax fought hard and could have gone through if they had been a bit more sharp at times. Marseille didn't play a brilliant game but they did what they had to do.

Ajax had to do without the suspended Vermaelen and Van der Wiel. A third defender, Vertonghen, was injured, while a fourth, Vermaelen, was not eligible. On midfield Gabri and Lindgren were still absent. Youngster Aissati and Anita featured instead. The attack remained unchanged. Marseille started with Zenden and Kone in the attack while Mears replaced the injured Bonnart in defense. The French outfit had trouble putting Ajax under pressure but they did well to score from the few chances they got.

The hosts showed their intentions from the start as they attacked all out. Their strongest players could be seen in the attack so Van Basten wanted to put his emphasis there. Suarez got the first few chances for Ajax. After only a couple of minutes he was left completely unmarked to head in a cross from eight metres out. His effort was too weak to upset Mandanda. Another header and a volley failed to hit the target before Enoh opened the score after a little over an half hour of play. This time Suarez turned provider as he brilliantly set up Enoh alone in front of goal. The young midfielder kept his nerve as he put the ball in the back of the net. Their celebrations were short-lived as Niang leveled the score only a couple of minutes later after receiving a Koné through ball. Ajax kept the initiative but Marseille stood their ground well. The teams balanced eachother out quite well and another excellent Suarez move was needed to break the match open, halfway through the second half. The agile attacker quickly turned from Hilton inside the box before crossing it to Sulejmani, who had little trouble nodding it in from close range. Just before full time Suarez could have definitely put Ajax through but he needed too much time to control a pass inside the penalty area. The teams seemed to be in another deadlock during the extra-time, Ajax kept the pressure on Marseille but they defended well. Just as the sides seemed to be heading towards a penalty shoot out, Mears headed in the important second Olympique goal. The Ajax defense poorly cleared the ball from the goal mouth from a Zenden free kick and the defender took maximum profit. In the dying seconds Silva also picked up a red card for the hosts after some dramatic acting by Ben Arfa.

Despite all their injuries and suspensions Van Basten saw his side play one of it's better matches of the season. He will be hoping that his side will finally start to show these kind of performance in their domestic league as well. Suarez was very important again. Marseille go through to the quarter finals but they have to improve if they want to get anything out of this tournament. There is enough experience and quality to do better so Gerets still has enough room to improve.