As against PSG last weekend, Roberto De Zerbi lined up Adrien Rabiot alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg against Nantes this Sunday. But this duo risks having competition in the weeks to come.
Starting for the first time with OM two weeks ago against Montpellier, Adrien Rabiot made his third start in a row on Sunday in Nantes. The French international is not yet at his top level and it shows. Still shy and sometimes slow in his choices, the former Juventus Turin midfielder will quickly have to raise the cursor. Especially since in the coming weeks, Roberto De Zerbi could have big headaches in putting together his midfield, mainly for one reason according to L'Equipe. Aligned in central defense in Nantes this Sunday, Geoffrey Kondogbia had a delicate evening.
Repositioned in defense by Roberto De Zerbi, the Central African midfielder is not at ease, and it shows. In difficulty with long through balls, the ex-Atlético de Madrid player could quickly return to midfield, where his start to the season had been good alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. “With three captains (Rabiot, Hojbjerg, Kondogbia) for two relay places, De Zerbi found himself facing a headache” underlines the newspaper L'Equipe in its edition of the day. Against Auxerre on Friday, Roberto De Zerbi could still choose Geoffrey Kondogbia in central defense. But until when?
Kondogbia back in the middle, who will be sacrificed?
“He plays at the back because he has everything I expect from my central defenders. He has personality and courage, which is what I expect from central defenders. That's why he plays there.” hammered Roberto De Zerbi after the victory in Nantes on Sunday. In fact, Brassier or Cornelius could quickly take over the left central position next to Balerdi, pushing Kondogbia into the middle. A choice whose victim could be Adrien Rabiot, even if within the Marseille club, we still believe to have achieved a very big sporting blow with the arrival of the player from the French team, who we want to give time to acclimatize and regain your best physical level. Roberto De Zerbi will therefore have difficult choices to make, starting next Friday at the Vélodrome against Auxerre to find the right formula.
