We are into the second of four minutes added time at Stade Velodrome.
90'
K. Mitroglou gets yellow.
Brilliant again from Sarr, who dribbles past his marker and looks to deliver some quality into the area, only to be cut-out at the vital moment. The full-back is left out of position as Salzburg counter, but Mitroglou gets back to cover, picking up a card in the process.
88'
Gulbrandsen has looked sharp since his introduction, and the Salzburg forward did well to skip clear of two Marseille defenders before drilling a low cross into the six-yard box. Pele, however, got down to claim it.
85'
The Marseille crowd – as they have been all night – are in superb voice as we enter the closing stages at Stade Velodrome. While Salzburg have been unlucky, the hosts are well deserving of their lead, although they still have a few minutes to go…
83'
Payet whips in a wicked delivery from a free-kick out on the left. The ball drops just ahead of Walke, who is stuck in no man’s land, but Rami can’t quite get there before it bounces off the turf and up into the Salzburg goalkeeper’s grateful grasp.
81'
R. Yabo enters the game and replaces A. Haidara.
V. Germain enters the game and replaces F. Thauvin.
There will also be a final change for the visitors. Off goes Amadou Haidara, and on comes the more attack-minded Reinhold Yabo.
Although Payet seems to have recovered from his knock, Florian Thauvin has now gone down, and Garcia won’t be taking any risks. The former Newcastle man is going to be making way for Valere Germain.
77'
OFF THE POST! There was the chance for Salzburg! Ulmer puts in a wonderful cross that the substitute Gulbrandsen meets on the half-volley. Pele is beaten all ends up, but fortunately for Marseille, the ball clatters into the upright.
76'
That’s an excellent tackle by Sarr, who easily gets the better of Berisha before swiftly setting Marseille away on the counter. N’Jie soon takes control of the move, but he can’t create anything.
74'
That chance may give the visitors some hope, though. Salzburg will know that if they do take one opportunity that comes their way, the tie could well swing in their favour
73'
Salzburg have been starved of chances so far, but Dabbur has just squandered a great one! Lainer, who has been excellent, engineered some space down the right and sent a low cross back towards the edge of the 18-yard box. Dabbur adjusted his feet well to meet it with a first-time shot, but was off balance and only managed to send his effort into the stands.
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70'
This could be a worry for Marseille, who have already lost Ocampos to injury. Payet is down, and looks in some pain. Garcia may well want to get his star player off and metaphorically wrapped in cotton wool to avoid any further damage ahead of the second leg.
68'
X. Schlager enters the game and replaces H. Wolf.
Hannes Wolf, much to his displeasure, is now making way. Xaver Schlager will replace the winger as Salzburg look to salvage something from this match.
65'
Berisha attempts to snatch something for Salzburg immediately from the restart, but Pele is more than equal to the winger’s long-range snapshot.
63'
C. N'Jie has scored a goal for Marseille! Assist by D. Payet.
GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLL!! N’JIE MAKES IT TWO! With one of his first touches, the substitute has just put Marseille in control at Stade Velodrome. Payet was at the heart of it with a brilliant pass into the former Tottenham winger, who set himself with a superb first touch before slotting home.
That was a wonderfully constructed move from Garcia’s side, as Payet raced behind Salzburg’s high line before picking out N’Jie with a perfectly weighted pass. The ex-West Ham star has been in sublime form tonight, and is more than worthy of his two assists.
61'
That was a chance for Thauvin! The partnership between the winger and Payet comes to the fore again as Marseille’s playmaker delivers a deep, out-swinging corner to the back post. Thauvin meets it cleanly, unlike for his goal, but can’t generate the power to beat Salzburg’s goalkeeper.
60'
C. N'Jie enters the game and replaces M. Lopez.
F. Gulbrandsen enters the game and replaces Hwang Hee-Chan.
Another change from Marseille boss Garcia. Clinton N’Jie is on, with Maxime Lopez making way.
A first substitution for the visitors sees Hee-Chan Hwang replaced by Fredrik Gulbrandsen.
56'
While Salzburg have been far from at their best so far, they have not had luck on their side either, both with the concession of Thauvin’s goal, and that penalty appeal, with Lopez – now playing out wide – having clearly clipped Lainer, who has been impressive down the right.
54'
GREAT SAVE! Salzburg wanted a penalty after Lainer went down under pressure from Lopez, but the referee dismissed their quite valid appeals. The visitors maintained the pressure, though – Dabbur bursting into the area before trying to chip Pele, who does well to parry the ball onto the roof of the net.
52'
F. Anguissa enters the game and replaces L. Ocampos.
Here is that change for Marseille. The stricken Lucas Ocampos has been withdrawn, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa on in his place.
50'
A stoppage in the play, now, as Ocampos receives some treatment after going down on the touchline. Marseille appear to be readying a change, and it could well be the end of the night for the midfielder.
48'
An awkward moment for Marseille, there! Pele rushed out to try and deal with a long punt from Caleta-Car, but completely missed it. Hwang managed to chest the ball down, but slipped before he could turn, and Amavi raced across to intercept.
46'
We’re back underway for the second half at Stade Velodrome.
44'
Immense defending from Luiz Gustavo! The former Wolfsburg man has been reinvented as a centre-back this season, and he showed all of his experience and quality with a fantastic sliding challenge on Samassekou, drawing a huge roar of appreciation from the Marseille faithful.
42'
So far, Salzburg’s high press has only boosted Marseille’s ability to probe and penetrate on the counter, with Payet staying high upfield in order to get on the ball and set the hosts away, while both Thauvin and Lopez are keeping wide to maintain the width.
40'
Marseille’s tactics are clear; get the ball to Payet and then rush into the Salzburg box, and given the quality the hosts' number 10 possesses, that isn’t exactly a bad plan from Rudi Garcia’s side. Again, the France international finds plenty of space down the right, but this time he overhits his cross, and the chance goes begging.
38'
Ulmer delivers a promising cross, but no Salzburg attacker had made a run to the near post, and Pele is able to collect it under little pressure.
37'
A decent spell of possession for Salzburg leads to a clumsy foul from Amavi, who needlessly dragged down Wolf, giving the visitors an opportunity to create something from this set-piece…
34'
Sanson shows his versatility with a full-blooded challenge to win the ball back deep in Salzburg’s half, but the former Montpellier man then squanders the chance to deliver a quality ball by hooking his cross straight to Walke.
30'
Now it’s Lainer’s turn, as he races down the right flank before cutting inside and letting ruip with a low effort that Pele does well to keep hold of. Marseille launch a quick counter – Payet again the architect as he floats in a wonderful pass towards Thauvin, but Walke is on hand to claim it.
29'
Clever play from Thauvin, who wins a cheap free-kick to relieve some of the pressure that had been building on Marseille’s defence – Rami having just taken advantage of a slip from Berisha to clear the hosts’ lines.
28'
Great work from Pele, who is sharply off his line to prevent Dabbur squaring it back to a team-mate, as Salzburg finally managed to create some danger. Caleta-Car wins the header from the resulting corner, but is unable to hit the target.
26'
The game has just settled a bit now, and that will likely suit Salzburg, who have had to weather a bit of a storm from the hosts so far – albeit they only conceded because the officials did not spot Thauvin’s handball. Payet has just picked out Mitroglou with a brilliant diagonal, but the former Fulham forward failed to take the ball into his path.
22'
H. Wolf gets yellow.
The bookings are quickly evened up - Wolf picking up a caution for a late tackle on Payet.
20'
M. Lopez gets yellow.
Dabbur was the Salzburg man down on the deck as Sanson hammered wide, and the striker has now received some treatment for a knock sustained in a challenge with Lopez, who has rightly received a booking.
19'
A Salzburg player is down injured, but Marseille do not hesitate in carrying on with the play. The ball is eventually worked into Sanson 25 yards out, but the midfielder drags his shot wide.
17'
Thauvin is now on 23 goals in all competitions this term, but it his partner in crime Payet who is running the show for Marseille at the moment. Again, the 30-year-old charges into Salzburg’s area and manages to cut the ball back, but Ramalho gets there before Mitroglou can latch onto it.
15'
F. Thauvin has scored a goal for Marseille! Assist by D. Payet.
Well, on second look, there is definitely some controversy about that goal! Payet’s delivery was excellent, but it appears that Thauvin actually headed the ball onto his hand, diverting it into the net. However, the officials didn’t spot it and the goal will stand!
GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!!! Well, it had been coming in the last few minutes! This time, Payet gets his delivery spot on with a wonderful, pinpoint cross to the back post, where Thauvin leapt highest to head home into an empty net, with Walke in no-man’s land.
14'
Sarr charges down the right and drills a powerful cross back towards the edge of the box. Payet manages to get to it with an improvised flick, but the former Lille man can’t direct it goalwards. Marseille keep up the pressure, though, as Ocampos draws a heavy tackle from Wolf 25 yards out, slightly to the right of centre.
12'
Amavi does well to win a free-kick down the left, which Payet duly whips into the area. Rami is there to meet it, but he can’t direct his header into the path of a team-mate, allowing Salzburg to clear.
11'
This is Salzburg boss’ Marco Rose’s first full season at the helm of the Austrian giants, and as well as being in with a shout of European glory, his side are on the verge of a domestic double.
9'
Despite the atmosphere, it has been a relatively slow start from both sides so far, with Marseille seeing a lot of the ball without, as of yet, really testing their visitors.
4'
An early chance for Payet to deliver some quality now, as Ocampos is scythed down 30 yards out. The Marseille playmaker plays a neat through ball in behind Salzburg’s line, but Mitroglou had just strayed offside.
3'
Salzburg made it into the semi-final in dramatic fashion, scoring four goals in the space of 20 second-half minutes to beat Lazio 4-1 at Red Bull Arena and secure a 6-5 aggregate victory over the Serie A side.
1'
We are up and running in the south of France!
Marseille last reached the semi finals of a European competition in 2003-04, defeating Newcastle United before losing to Valencia in the final of the UEFA Cup, as it was then known.
Austrian Bundesliga champions Salzburg, meanwhile, are featuring in just their second European semi-final, having overcome Karlsruher SC back in 1993-94. They couldn't match Inter in the final, however.
Marseille substitues: Henri Bedimo, Gregory Sertic, Valere Germain, Clinton N’Jie, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Florian Escales, Rolando.
Marseille (4-2-3-1): Yohann Pele; Bouna Sarr, Adil Rami, Luiz Gustavo, Jordan Amavi; Lucas Ocampos, Morgan Sanson; Florian Thauvin, Dimitri Payet, Maxime Lopez; Kostas Mitroglou.
Salzburg substitues: Jerome Onguene, Xaver Schlager, Marin Pongracic, Fredrik Gulbrandsen, Reinhold Yabo, Takumi Minamino, Cican Stankovic.
Payet has had a hand in five of Marseille’s last nine goals in the Europa League, with three goals and two assists, and the former West Ham man could well be the key player for the hosts this evening from that position behind the striker. Only Sergio Canales, on the other hand, has provided more assists in this competition in 2017/18 than Salzburg full-back Lainer.
Welcome to LIVE coverage of the first leg of the Europa League semi-final between Marseille and Red Bull Salzburg!
Salzburg (4-4-2): Alexander Walke; Stefan Lainer, Duje Caleta-Car, Andre Ramalho, Andreas Ulmer; Amadou Haidara, Diadie Samassekou, Hannes Wolf, Valon Berisha; Hwang Hee-Chan, Munas Dabbur.
The atmosphere at Stade Velodrome is such that the Europa League anthem has been drowned out by the supporters. Let’s hope the game matches up to the crowd!
A confident, quality showing from Marseille so far, and the Ligue 1 side are deservedly in front. That being said, their goal came with some controversy, the officials missing what looked to be a rather blatant handball from Florian Thauvin as he bundled Dimitri Payet’s cross over the line.
HALF-TIME: Marseille 1 Red Bull Salzburg 0.
For all Mairseille’s dominance, however, Salzburg are still in this game. The visitors have created little going forward, but if they can be a bit tighter at the back after the interval, could well be in a good position heading into the second leg.
Overall, though, Marseille deserved the win, and will now head into next week’s second leg as firm favourites.
The result could have been very different had referee William Collum spotted that Thauvin handled the ball over the line for Marseille’s opener, however, while Salzburg could easily have had a penalty in the second half. Substitute Fredrik Gulbrandsen also hit the woodwork.
FULL TIME! It’s over in Marseille, where the hosts have claimed a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Florian Thauvin and Clinton N’Jie.
Well, that’s all from me for now. Until next time, thank you and goodbye!
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