Faced with the last minute absence of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, feverish, Roberto De Zerbi racked his brains not to disrupt the balance of his team. The OM coach placed his trust in Bilal Nadir and the Moroccan repaid him by scoring a nice goal. The Italian is convinced of the talent of his midfielder.
Roberto De Zerbi was forced to innovate on Sunday evening to challenge Le Havre. Indeed, the Italian coach was deprived of his strong man Peter-Emile Hojbjergsick and feverish. To replace it, several options were available. By Zerbi and the latter opted for one of the most surprising: tenure Bilal Nadir. The Moroccan shone, delivering an interesting performance marked by his first goal in the colors of loon. Roberto DeZerbi was very complimentary about him.
“He is very talented”
« Nadir provided guarantees, he knows the Vélodrome and can become an important player, he is very talented. But I thought of other alternatives, like bringing Adrien Rabiot back down, but I didn't want to remove him from this position which suits him so well. Quentin Merlin, like in Brest by playing Garcia, it was also a solution, but against a team like that in a low block, perhaps he would have had difficulty. He is a player who needs large spaces to attack, he is not a player who will take the ball like that in a fixed position. So the best choice was Nadir. I was really sorry to have to take him out, but we were leading by three goals and I didn't want to risk him taking a second youngster. Otherwise, I don't think I would have released it. », declared the coach of loon at a press conference. Passing through a mixed zone, Bilal Nadir spoke of his new status.
“I think I was rewarded”
« If De Zerbi trusts me? I don't know, you have to ask him. Afterwards, I, now, did everything to try to correspond to his ideas of play, to integrate as quickly as possible. And this evening, I think that this tenure also allowed me to highlight the work that I have done. I think I was rewarded and tonight I think I gave satisfaction “, confided the midfielder of loon. A good omen for the future!
