Olympique de Marseille – RC Strasbourg Alsace: Familiar Problems Surface in Post-De Zerbi Marseille (2-2)

It was a return to basics for Olympique de Marseille following the sacking of Roberto De Zerbi. And the basics seemed to give the club new life as they stole to a two-goal lead over RC Strasbourg Alsace. However, familiar problems would creep into the team, as a fragile defense once again collapsed. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

“This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.” And so Roberto De Zerbi’s time at Olympique de Marseille ended in much the same way as those that came before him. He had promised to bring a long-term project and silverware back to France’s second city, but instead, he was evicted midway through his second season. Marseille’s patience had worn thin, and a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain proved unrecoverable. 

What next? Don’t ask Marseille. There is no plan for this, and now they’re scrambling to come up with something, with Habib Beye looking the most likely candidate to take over permanently (albeit with a large caveat hanging over him). Until then, Jaques Abardonado will be back in charge as the interim head coach. His last game at the helm, funnily enough, was a 4-0 defeat in Le Classique. So one better than De Zerbi managed at least. 

RC Strasbourg Alsace arrive at the Stade Vélodrome at what should be an opportune moment. However, Gary O’Neil’s side are entering the fixture in a poor run of form, having suffered back-to . . .