The main discoveries of last season were Bayer Leverkusen, Girona and Bologna. Everything leads us to now talk about Marseille. The changes at the club are impressive, although we already warned in the summer that this team was worth paying attention to. Last season was a failure both in terms of results and the atmosphere in the team. It has had four coaches and sports director Javier Ribalta left the club after threats from Marseille fans.
Many wondered what great club Roberto De Zerbi would lead after Brighton. As a result, the coach ended up not at Bayern, Juventus or Manchester United, but at the troubled Marseille. They gave him a contract for three years at a time. And now, according to the results of five rounds, the team is in the lead along with PSG and Monaco. They all have 13 points.
Roberto De Zerbi
Photo: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images
Marseille’s last match turned out to be a fantastic scenario. In the early match against Lyon, De Zerbi’s team was in the minority already in the fifth minute: captain Leonardo Balerdi was sent off. In the last 15 years in the French championship, no one had received two yellow cards so quickly. First, the defender crashed into the opponent’s feet, although in that situation even a simple foul made no sense. And a couple of minutes later he brought down Lacazette near the area, even though his teammates could well have helped him.
It turned out to be a spectacular match, in which Marseille, in the minority, made two comebacks at the same time. At first we lost 0:1, but we turned the game around and went ahead 2:1. Lyon then equalized the score in the 90+3 minute, but Marseille miraculously achieved victory in the 90+5 minute, after a mistake by Lyon goalkeeper Lucas Perry. The guests’ emotions soared both on the field and later in the locker room.
In a way, a typical Marseille match this season. The team won again, although it was unlikely that they would have done so: Lyon had a better chance. If we look at the planned objectives, the situation seems absurd. Marseille shares first place in points, although they allowed more own goal opportunities (8.0 xGA) than they created (7.7 xG). The difference is small (-0.3 xGD), but for comparison: for PSG it is not only positive, but +10.1.
There is a great temptation here to say that Marseille is simply lucky at the start of the season. This is partly true. The ratio of points scored and chances created will likely even out over the course of the game. However, now it makes sense to celebrate the performance of some footballers. In the same match against Lyon, Jeronimo Ruglia saved a penalty again. Only the Marseille goalkeeper has made two penalty kicks this season, if we take into account the big leagues.
Penalty stopped
Photo: FC Marseille
Overall, the newcomers stand out in this lineup. And we’re not even talking about Adrien Rabiot, who hasn’t made his debut yet. Aside from Roulya, Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg are the most impressive. The former Manchester United winger topped the scoring list, scoring five goals in five games. As before, the footballer stands out with an excellent shot with both feet. No matter how you roll the ball, it is always convenient to hit it. It is significant that English distinguished itself twice with the left and with the right (and once again with the head).
Højbjerg now also plays an important role. He was Tottenham’s leader for several years, but then Postecoglou no longer served him. He spent all of last season as a reserve, who was sometimes allowed on the field. Now the Dane is once again a key player who determines the team’s performance. He is the leader not only of Marseille, but also of the entire Ligue 1 in blocked dribbles (14), interceptions (15), touches (533), passes (472) and accurate passes (446).
Mason Greenwood
Photo: Sylvain Dionisio ATPImages/Getty Images
And of course, De Zerbi himself has already become a star in Marseille. Especially after the spectacular match against Lyon, when Marseille’s three goals were scored by players who came on in the second half. It turned out that he was right with the changes, although in many ways it simply coincided: no one could count on the fact that in the 90+5 minute the opposing goalkeeper would cut off the pass in this same zone.
The coach is still building his football, but some trends are already noticeable. One of Brighton’s tricks was to play the ball low from goal, when opponents were drawn to press. That’s why now in Marseille the goalkeeper has to play a lot with his feet. After five games, Rogli is the leader of Ligue 1 in the number of assists among goalkeepers (175). Marseille’s average possession increased slightly compared to last season (from 53.7% to 57%). It clearly would have been more if it hadn’t been for the elimination in the last round. The match against Lyon is the only one in which Marseille with De Zerbi was inferior in terms of possession (only 37%).
Marseille stadium
Photo: Screenshot of the broadcast.
Well, it must be said about the atmosphere surrounding the team. The season has just started and it is indecently early to talk about the title. Especially when the results exceed the level of the game. However, emotions are irrational. After the game, the players go crazy in the locker room as if they had already won the trophy, and the fans set a club record for season tickets sold (49,000). Marseille was the most visited team in Ligue 1 last season and now the average number of spectators has increased to 64,822 (other teams have less than 50,000).
There is already talk about the sale of tickets for the match against PSG, which will be played in Marseille in a month. The club acted cleverly: it sold 8,000 ticket packages, which included tickets for the next two home games (against Angers on October 4 and PSG on October 27). For the remaining tickets (and there are few left taking into account the subscriptions), there will be 48 hours of priority for the members of the club. It is likely that tickets for the French “Clásico” simply will not appear on sale.
And this is how it goes for our goalkeeper in France:
Safonov missed the first shot on goal. The Russian’s offensive debut with PSG in the championship
