FT: That is all from VAVEL's live coverage of Braga and Marseille's encounter. Thank you for following this enthralling clash with us, I have been Conor de Smith.
FT: Rafa Silva, Willy Boly and Ahmed Hassan stole the show for Braga in the end. Goalscorers Romain Alessandrini and Michy Batshuayi were the standout performers for Marseille in an attacking sense.
Michy Batshuayi takes on Willy Bolly.
FT: Fortunately for the losers, Groningen got a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at Slovan Liberec. This ensures that Marseille still have a good opportunity to qualify from Group F but Braga now looked destined to win the group.
FT: Braga raced away to a two goal lead when Ahmed Hassan broke the deadlock before Wilson Eduardo doubled the advantage. Romain Alessandrini reduced the deficit with a great free-kick before top goalscorer Michy Batshuayi levelled. Joy was to be short lived for Marseille as Alan capitalised on a Steve Mandanda error when he tapped home the winner.
Hassan celebrates with team-mates after breaking the deadlock.
FT: Alexandru Tudor has blown his whistle. Braga have beaten Marseille 3-2 in a stunning game in Portugal.
90' Mendy gives commits a foul on the halfway line, that shold be it now.
90' Marseille in possession but are doing nothing with it.
90' Four minutes have been added on. Braga now taking the ball to the corner flag.
89' BRAGA HAVE WON IT! What an end to the game! Djavan cross the ball into the box and an error from Mandanda gifts Alan the chance to win it!
87' MARSEILLE HAVE EQUALIZED! In just three minutes the French side have scored twice to seemingly resuce a point. Michy Batshuayi scores his eighth of the season, tapping in N'Koudou's cross from close range.
84' WHAT A GOAL FOR MARSEILLE! From the resulting free-kick, Romain Alessandrini bends the ball around the wall from the periphery of the penalty area and into the bottom corner. Game on!
82' Batshuayi is fouled by Djavan as he runs towards goal, tactical foul by the Brazilian. He has now been booked.
80' If only this man was fit and ready to play for Marseille.
77' BRAGA DOUBLE THEIR LEAD! An outstanding run by Bolly ends in a great ball to his team-mate, whose shot is saved by the goalkeeper but Wilson Eduardo is there to tap home.
74' Hassan, the goalscorer, is down injured and his replacement is getting ready. It is due to injury despite him appearing overly emotional after the goal.
71' Romain Alessandrini is also looking dangerous, showing shades of what made him so feared at Rennes. The 26-year-old's powerful strike flew just over the bar after Braga failed to deal with a corner.
70' Michy Batshuayi looks to be Marseille's biggest goal threat yet again. He turned his man brilliantly to get a shot at goal, which narrowly goes wide.
68' The ball was in the back of the net for Marseille but Michy Batshuayi was adjudged to be offside following his calm finish. Great defending from Braga's back four, who failed to be undone by a great Lucas Silva reverse pass.
67' That stunning strike was followed by changes from both teams. Fonte was replaced by Eduardo as former Newcastle man Remy Cabella comes on for Djadjedje.
62' GOAL BRAGA! Rafa Silva plays the ball through Lassana Diarra's legs to find Ahmed Hassan, who outstandingly chips the ball over Mandanda. Stunning goal that has been well-deserved.
58' Another chance for the away team here. Romain Alessandrini plays a great pass to unleash Brice Dja Djedje, who pulls it back to Michy Batshuayi but the foul is given on the goalkeeper.
56' Nikola Vukeevic's header from the corner is saved well by the 'keeper, who gets down well to deny the Montenegrin. Prior to this chance, Abdelaziz Barrada was booked for shirt pulling inside the penalty area after Tudor warned him about moments beforehand.
54' This is much better from Marseille, who are showing greater intent to get forward. They still appear difficult to break down also, Braga finding it hard to carve them open.
49' Michy Batshuayi fouled on the halfway line. Ligue 1's top scorer is having to come too deep to collect the ball.
47' A reminder of tonight's starting line-ups
46' We are back underway here in northern Portugal! Braga are now shooting from left to right.
HT: Both sets of teams are out from their respective dressing rooms, Braga emerging first.
HT: Elsewhere in the competition: Molde 2-0 Celtic, Liverpool 1-1 Ruben Kazan, Bordeaux 0-1 Sion, Slovan Liberec 0-0 FC Groningen.
HT: October 22 does not appear to be a great date for OM, the French giants lost to Porto on this day in 2003. Maniche scored the 350th Porto goal as they beat Marseille 3-2.
Maniche celebrates his goal against Marseille in 2003.
HT: Paulo Fonseca will be the happier of the two managers during the break. SC Braga have enjoyed 60% possession, had five corners and 14 dangerous attacks. Of their six shots, three of them have found the target.
HT: Alexandru Tudor blows the half-time whistle and sends both teams down the tunnel.
45' The best opportunity of the night has been missed by Ahmed Hassan. Rafa Silva is causing havoc down the left hand side and the Portugal international picked out his onrushing team-mate eight-yards out. Lucas Silva does enough to put the striker off.
45' Chance to break missed for Marseille! Abdelaziz Barrada fails to convert his pass back to Michy Batshuayi.
45' Three minutes have been added on by the fourth official.
45' Marseille's first opportunity has come in the form of top goalscorer Michy Batshuayi, who has recieved little service thus far. With nobody up to support him, he could only fire a shot into the goalkeeper's hands from a tight angle.
44' Willy Boly has been taken off the pitch but is mobile. His head is heavily bandaged.
41' Karim Rekik and Willy Boly are down injured after a head collision. The former defended the ball superbly but the latter has come out the worse, still laying on the ground with a stretcher beside him.
40' Rafa Silva draws the foul from Real Madrid loanee Lucas Silva in a promising position.
36' Young defender Ricardo Ferreira puts his header well wide of the goal after an ineffable outside of the boot cross from Rafa Silva. The latter is impressing thus far.
34' The visitors now have all 11 players behind the ball, it has been a really disappointing showing from the French side but they are starting to defend better.
32' Fan favourite Benjamin Mendy has produced his club's most exciting piece of play today, producing some quick feet to get away from the right-back. Nothing comes of it though and Les Phoceens give away yet another free-kick.
27' Stephane Sparagna obtains the first booking of the night.
27' Rafa Silva advances on a brilliant run at the Marseille bakc four, despite going down from a challenge by a defender. Clearly a foul, Tudor allowed advantage and for the midfielder to pick out Marcelo Goiano on the right hand side. Good stuff from Braga's match-winner on matchday one.
23' Tudor, 44, is a Romanian referee that has officiated at domestic, Europa League, Champions League and international level.
22' The Braga fans are becoming restless with the referee, as they feel the Marseille players have committed fouls too often now. Alexandru Tudor is keeping his cards in his pocket though.
20' Mandanda again busy again in the Marseille goal, as he punches the ball away from a free-kick.
18' A fingertip save from Steve Mandanda denies Ahmed Hassan another goal in the competition. The French were sloppy in possession once more, giving the ball away to the Egyptian.
14' Braga have been causing their opposition problems in the opening exchanges, the Portugal outfit are dominating possession and are putting Marseille's back four under pressure.
8' The pairing have recently endured poor spells in European competition. Braga have scored 15 goals in their last 16 European outings while Marseille managed their first win in 11 matches, in both the Champions and Europa League, last time out.
4' A first shot on target came from Rui Fonte. His limp header was easily collected by Steve Mandanda. A long ball from the centre-back was similar to Lorient's goal against Marseille at the weekend but the 25-year-old could not convert.
3' Marseille appear to have been set up by Michel in a 4-3-3 formation with Mauricio Isla, Lassana Diarra and Lucas Silva starting in midfield.
1' We are underway here in Portugal! Braga are donning red shirts and white shorts while the visitors are wearing their all blue kit.
The teams are now on the pitch, kick-off just moments away.
The Portuguese clubs enjoyed mixed fortunes this week, as Porto beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv 2-0 while Benfica lost away to Galatasaray. Sporting Lisbon thrashed Skenderbeu Korce 5-1 earlier tonight and that concludes Portugal’s representatives in Europe.
Two other French teams are in action this Thursday, with Monaco and Bordeaux also representing the country. Monaco are currently leading Qarabag by a solitary goal while Bordeaux face Sion later this evening. Saint-Etienne managed to beat Dnipro 1-0 away from home. In the Champions League this week, Lyon carried on their dismal season with a 3-1 loss to Andre Villas Boas’ Zenit side while PSG’s titanic clash with Real Madrid could not muster up a goal.
Zlatan and company could not break down Real Madrid's defence.
The average attendance for the Estadio Municipal de Braga is 12,000 spectators, with around 10,000 expected to attend tonight.
This game will be played out at the Estadio Municipal de Braga. Built in 2003 in preparation for the 2004 European Championships, the 30,286 capacity ground has been home to Braga ever since. It is known across the continent as it is carved into the adjacent Monte Castro quarry. It recently hosted to Portugal national team for their 1-0 win over Denmark in European Championships qualifying.
A high view of the stadium that has become famous due to its aesthetics.
BRAGA SUBSTITUTES: Kritsku; Baiano, Wilson Eduardo Luiz Carlos Crislan, Pedro Santos, Arghus
BRAGA STARTING XI: Matheus; Goiano, Ricardo Ferreira, Boly, Djavan; Alan (c), Mauro, Vukcevic, Rafa; Rui Fonte, Hassan
MARSEILLE'S SUBSTITUTES: Pele; Nkoulou, De Ceglie; Romao, Cabella; Nkoudou, Ocampos
MARSEILLE'S STARTING XI: Mandanda (c); Djadjedje, Sparagna, Rekik, Mendy; Isla, Diarra, Silva; Alessandrini, Batshuayi, Barrada
With under an hour until kick-off, what are your score predictions for tonight’s game? Tweet us as @VAVEL.
Tonight’s fixture will be the first time this duo meet in a UEFA competition. Braga have only met a French side on one occasion, coming out of a Round of 16 Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain with a respectable 1-0 defeat on aggregate. The visitors have never won in Portugal, winning just once in eight games against teams from the country and that came against Benfica in 1990.
Despite Michy Batshuayi netting his seventh goal in 10 league outings against Lorient on Sunday, Benjamin Moukandjo ensured Marseille would go six without a win when he raced away from Nicolas Nkoulou after a long ball from Francois Belugou. Michel still feels his side are confident in themselves to get out of trouble. "Confidence? We haven’t lost it," said Míchel. "A coach without confidence is a team without confidence, players without confidence. Our frame of mind has always been excellent and we believe that we can win this match."
The Europa League has not proved to be a welcome distraction from their dismal domestic form, securing three points in Holland before Slovan Liberec came away from the Velodrome with a 1-0 win. Georges-Kevin Nkoudou got the scoring underway on matchday one, with two of France’s most frustrating talents, Ocampos and Alessandrini, following suit. Then top of the group, a rather surprise defeat to Liberec came courtesy of a Vladimir Coufal goal with six minutes left to play.
Their opponents this evening have endured a less prosperous start to their domestic and European campaigns thus far, despite being one of France’s household names. Marcelo Bielsa’s resignation after an opening day loss to Caen caught the eye for the wrong reasons, with Marseille left in turmoil. With the likes of Andre Ayew, Dimitri Payet, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Florian Thauvin leaving this summer, new boss Michel had his work cut out. Despite a few promising performances, including a 6-0 victory over Troyes and a 4-1 win against Bastia, the club sit just above the relegation zone in 16th after failing the win in five Ligue 1 games.
Marseille were left frustrated on the opening day.
Os Arcebispos, also known as The Arsenal Fans, are sitting in fourth place within Primeira Liga. The northern Portugal outfit finished in the same position last season, finishing a casmic 18 points off third placed Sporting Lisbon and the final Champions League place. Four wins, one draw and two defeats has left them five four points off both Porto and Sporting Lisbon at the summit of the Portuguese first division.
In what has been a rather low scoring group, with every side keeping a clean sheet thus far, a late Rafa goal in the Czech Republic sealed Braga’s first three points of the campaign. In contrast, in their following fixture, an early Ahmed Hassan strike secured a three point advantage at the top of Group F.
Rafa celebrates after scoring for Braga.
This encounter comes as part of matchday three of the Europa League, UEFA’s secondary competition behind the Champions League. The hosts are looking to maintain their 100% start to their European campaign, following wins over Slovan Liberec and Groningen respectively. Marseille defeated the latter but succumbed to a disappointing loss to Slovan Liberec in front of 10,040 fans at the Stade Velodrome.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL’s live coverage of the Europa League meeting between Braga and Marseille. My name is Conor de Smith and will be bringing you comprehensive build up and live match commentary throughout the evening.
