A spectacular shipwreck! Fifteen days after being soundly beaten at home by Paris SG, OM sank again on Friday at the Vélodrome, beaten 3-1 by Auxerre, a promoted side.
Like two weeks ago, it all ended in front of an already half-empty stadium when the final whistle sounded and to the boos of a disgusted public.
All the same, being down 3-0 at the break at home against Paris SG is one thing; but being against Auxerre is another. The sad defeat conceded 15 days ago in the Classic had hurt OM lovers, but their fury was tinged with a little resignation. On Friday, the whistles that brought the Marseillais back to the locker room at the break and then at the end of the match were those of pure anger and shame.
With this defeat, OM finds itself within reach of Monaco (3rd) and Lille (4th), who will play this weekend, and therefore risks losing its second place. Above all, Friday's fiasco served as a reminder that the project opened this summer by management and led by Roberto De Zerbi was still in its foundations, at most, and that the task was immense.
In particular, the Marseillais will have to learn to win at the Vélodrome, where they systematically struggle and where they have played five times for a single victory, against Nice.
Brassier in difficulty
In any case, after the success brought back from Nantes on Sunday, OM and De Zerbi wanted a lot – to continue, to be better in the game, to erase the slap in the face of the Classic and to finally be good at the Vélodrome – and they got nothing.
After the break, we will have to go to Lens and receive Monaco, two other candidates for Europe, to take points and show that the De Zerbi project retains its raison d'être. Because on Friday, Marseille seemed very far from the mark.
From the 10e minute, it was Lilian Brassier who was the first to sink. On a long ball without any particular difficulty, the Marseille central defender lost his bearings in space and let Lassine Sinayoko open the scoring (1-0).
At the time, the former Brest player confirmed his difficulties acclimatizing to OM, even if De Zerbi said on Thursday that he saw him making progress.
Being behind was then pretty much the worst that could happen to OM, who already didn't have much space at 0-0 and were now faced with two lines of five firmly planted in front of Donovan Leon.
Penalty de Greenwood
The Marseillais tried to move around the block but without obtaining more than a few half-chances. They had the possession, sure, but they never found the solution and often gave the impression of not even really knowing where to look for it.
For Auxerre, who did everything very well on Friday and climbed to a nice sixth place, things were simpler: wait and counter. Before the break, the Burgundians did it twice, successfully, first by Gaëtan Perrin (2-0, 43e) then by the talented Hamed Traoré (3-0, 45th).
In these two actions, Marseille defended horribly poorly and its weakness in this sector of play risks being crippling this season.
After the break, De Zerbi started Elye Wahi, Ismaël Koné and Ulisses Garcia but that changed nothing. Auxerre hit the post and continued to have the best chances.
At 65e minute, OM still came back to 3-1, thanks to a penalty from Mason Greenwood, which fell from the sky and a hand from Clément Akpa. Wahi then harangued the turns, inviting the audience to push and believe. Half an hour later, the OM center forward and his teammates only received whistles.
