It wasn’t a music festival last night, but the Marseille faithful had a lot of ideas, and they largely focused on the 4th art on this frosty January evening. Announced grandiose by the leaders of the groups, the tifos deployed at the entrance of the actors were up to the task, with subtle references to big names in song. The Marseille rap group IAM on the Depé turn side, the Beatles reading Provençal on the South turn side – and a beautiful animation in homage to Rolland Courbis – that’s it for the show in the stands, with constant singing throughout the game, including a quarter of an hour from the end, when everything was already played.
On the field, on the contrary, Roberto De Zerbi’s men appeared far too limited to really worry the reigning English champion, logically winner (3-0) of a lively but ultimately unbalanced encounter. The Olympians had announced it the day before: they had to “be at the level” against the Reds but they ultimately did not show much, like an insufficient first act which saw only Amine Gouiri try his luck (27th) on the OM side.
Weah: “Liverpool were better”
Too weak offensively – apart from a few situations (52nd, 53rd, 59th, 69th) – the Blue and White were also very feverish behind (45th + 1, 72nd, 90th + 3), and the score could have been much heavier if the English had been more clinical up front.
In the Provençal ranks, frustration largely dominated minds when the final whistle blew. “I’m disgusted for the match we had. There are things to improve. Afterwards, 3-0, I don’t know how to explain it. We will have to take a good look at what we did good and bad,” whispered Argentinian Facundo Medina (26 years old, 7 caps) to Canal +, joined by Roberto De Zerbi: “We played badly, especially in the first half, where we also lacked personality. Consistency is our real challenge: we alternate too much between good performances, like against Paris (2-2, 1-4 tab) or Angers (5-2), and other weaker ones. This evening (read Wednesday), the will was there, especially after the break, but against Liverpool, it was not enough. You have to play with personality, miss fewer passes. We could do better, clearly. »
For his part, Timothy Weah (25 years old, 47 caps, 7 goals) delivered a clear observation: “It’s hard… We all wanted to win. Today (Wednesday), Liverpool were better, that’s all. We must continue to work. »
De Zerbi: “We will go there to win”
Still in the game in C1, the Marseillais are now up against the wall and must achieve a result in Bruges, a direct competitor for the play-off places. “We have to play well, find consistency. It’s a final but I don’t know if a draw will be enough. We will go there to win, like in Angers or Kuwait, not like this (Wednesday) evening. Bruges is not Liverpool, but it is a respectable and experienced team,” pointed out the Italian coach, who will be deprived of Benjamin Pavard, suspended, and Emerson, injured.
“Already, the most important thing is Lens. We go step by step. Afterwards, we will focus on Bruges. It will be a good match, playing there is never easy. Two new players arrive (midfielder Quinten Timber and winger Ethan Nwaneri), it will strengthen the team. And we will have to recover well, physically and mentally,” added Weah.
For OM, this is a decisive week for the future ahead. In two matches – Lens, Saturday (9:05 p.m.), then Bruges – the Olympians can still hope to aim for the first two places in Ligue 1 and the play-offs in C1, or lose everything, which would constitute a hell of a failure. Mission not impossible… but very perilous, in short.
