Olympique de Marseille – RC Strasbourg Alsace: Le Racing Collapse In First Test Under Oliveira (4-0)

Ligue 1 would be opened by two teams in transition. Olympique de Marseille’s years of spending beyond their means finally caught up with them, while RC Strasbourg Alsace’s relentless player trading left a team needing a new core. Of the two, Marseille’s new future looked the more realized as they tore apart a Strasbourg that looked very much undercooked. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

“Roll up, roll up! Everything must go!” If Olympique de Marseille haven’t quite said those words, they’ve at least heavily insinuated them. Years of financial risks and betting big with little return have caught up with the club and ushered in an unwelcome era of austerity. Every player is on the market, and plenty have already left, while they are yet to bring in any new signings. You can almost forget that last summer there was talk of challenging Paris Saint-Germain for the title. 

Diego Moreira, Emanuel Emegha, Valentin Barco, and Julio Enciso. A short list of the players who have left RC Strasbourg Alsace this summer. Each one was a core part of a squad that had flattered to deceive, never quite living up to their glorious potential. It feels somewhat like a fresh start for the club, a point only emphasised by the departure of head coach Gary O’Neil, with Hugo Oliveira replacing him. 

New Marseille head coach Bruno Génésio, poached from Lille OSC at the end of his contract, went with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Jeffrey De Lange started in goal, with . . .