To understand Marseille’s season, you need not watch all of their games; those played against PSG will suffice. After Marseille’s 1-0 win over the European champions in September – their first at the Vélodrome in the league in 14 years – the word “finally” was the word scrawled across the front page of local paper La Provence. That victory brought relief, but also hope and optimism: the Empire could be toppled. But it struck back on Sunday night.
“Rubbish,” read the front page of La Provence on Monday. And there really was only one word for it. It was a 5-0 defeat that could have been 10 – a humiliation. The Marseille defender Facundo Medina had spoken about “seeking revenge” for his team’s defeat to PSG in the Trophée des Champions in January, a defeat on penalties so narrow and frustrating that it left Roberto De Zerbi in tears in the dressing room.
“I have never cried after a defeat but tonight I cried when I returned to the dressing room,” said De Zerbi after his hopes were dashed in the Trophée des Champions. The manager was suffering again on Sunday night but this time due to a lack of hope. De Zerbi said he felt “deep sadness” and did not “have an explanation” after losing at the Parc des Princes.
But that does not mean that an explanation doesn’t exist. In fact, there is an obvious one. This was Marseille’s 33rd game of the season and, quite extraordinarily, it was their 33rd different starting lineup. “It is the first time in my career that I’ve had such an unstable team – I don’t understand it,” said De Zerbi, who could, of course, instil a degree of stability through his team selection. But he does not hold the stop button on the unrelenting revolving door at the club. Nine players left Marseille in January – including two summer signings in the form of Angel Gomes and Matt O’Riley – while a further four arrived. If you’re looking to account for a “rollercoaster team”, as De Zerbi calls it, look no further.
Given the turbulent environment, there is an onus on those familiar with their surroundings to set the tone. No one has been there as long as club captain Leonardo Balerdi. A few months ago De Zerbi said that Balerdi needed “to decide whether he wants to become a great player, and not just a player that has great potential.”
He may be forever consigned to being the latter if his performance against PSG is any indication. The Argentinian was at the scene of the crime for PSG’s first goal, playing on Nuno Mendes, who in turn put the ball across for Ousmane Dembélé to open his account on the night. It was Balerdi again who misread the trajectory of the ball later in the first half, allowing Dembélé to gather possession, eliminate the Marseille captain again with a cut inside, before rifling a shot into Jeffrey De Lange’s net.
PSG had not been at their best in recent weeks but, having pounced on Marseille’s errors, they were purring. Luis Enrique had bemoaned a “lack of confidence” and “precision” among his forwards. But he called his side’s performance as “almost perfect” – perhaps a reference to the four times they hit the woodwork. Marseille helped, gifting PSG a third goal via the head of Medina, before a spectacular Khvicha Kvaratskhelia volley and a Lee Kang-in drive rounded out the scoring.
“This match is important in terms of confidence because there was efficiency but, over the course of the season, I can think of lots better than the one today,” said Luis Enrique. But no result has made such a statement, and no win has burst a bubble in the way this demolition job did. It leaves Marseille shaken and confused. There will be soul-searching but whether it gives rise to change is another question entirely. Marseille are simultaneously always changing yet never really changing at all.
The repercussions could be felt across France and Europe. The mood of last spring was in the air as Désiré Doué pulled the strings, Dembélé wheeled away in celebration, as Mendes marauded down the left flank. That is an ominous and worrying sign for plenty of clubs. And, for all of Marseille’s faults on the night, the despondency that fills their local newspapers and the minds of fans is not entirely the result of their own shortcomings but rather a reaction to the unmatchable strength of a reinvigorated rival that is reasserting their dominance.
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