This Sunday, 8:45 p.m.
It’s been a hectic week in Marseille. Eliminated on Tuesday by Lille in the Coupe de France in the round of 16, the Phocéens found themselves in a small controversy, following a heated exchange between Medhi Benatia – the OM football director – and Olivier Létang – the Lille president.
“No questions about the controversies? Really ? You don’t want to talk about Olivier Létang? You are really Nice…” Friday at the end of his press conference, Roberto De Zerbi joked with the journalists present, who had questioned him about the Lille match and that of Strasbourg, about the play displayed by his team , but therefore not at the end of the high-tension meeting on Tuesday in the Coupe de France.
OM cries “injustice” after Benatia’s expulsion
After Luis Henrique’s equalizer in added time, the Italian coach had a brief clash with the Lille president. He was removed from the conflict zone by Medhi Benatia, the new OM football director, immediately expelled by referee Clément Turpin.
The episode has tensed the Marseille staff, who see it as “a form of injustice”, according to a source within the management, where there are questions about a “possible racial crime” at the time. against Benatia, already heavily sanctioned (three matches closed and three suspended) for another incident at the start of the season.
But while waiting for the disciplinary committee on Wednesday, the Marseille environment is determined to move on and to the reception of Strasbourg, this Sunday (8:45 p.m.), which should make it possible to maintain a good dynamic in the championship and to erase the memory of the first leg, when the Alsatians had severely shaken and beaten (1-0) De Zerbi’s team.
-Qualification in C1, the “last objective”
“I remember this match well and it stays with me… It’s a strong, well-trained team, which has legs, good organization and a clear identity,” said the Italian on Friday. “We had a bad match, so there are a lot of things to change. But we are no longer the same team. We have evolved and progressed a lot,” said center forward Neal Maupay.
The former Everton player also assured that Tuesday’s elimination should not weigh on the good momentum of OM, which remains on five victories and a draw in the league. “The group is mentally strong and we are focused on our final objective, which is qualification for the Champions League. I don’t think it can affect us, the season doesn’t end there,” he explained.
“We were disappointed with the result, obviously, because we had announced that we wanted to have a good run in the Cup. But we still showed some great things. We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves or to lower our heads because I think we are really on the right track. I’m sure of it, even,” added Maupay, who should continue on Sunday, Elye Wahi still being injured.
Marseille can take off
Satisfied with the content of Tuesday’s match, De Zerbi did not seem very worried either. “I don’t think this elimination is a break. We know that a successful or missed shot on goal can make you win or lose a World Cup. But we played well. So we have to accept the elimination and continue as we have been doing for a while in the championship,” he explained.
“We can eat points away from a lot of teams, as we did last week by beating Rennes,” also noted the Marseille coach, who was speaking before Monaco’s surprising defeat in Montpellier. If successful on Sunday, OM (2e) would in fact be seven points ahead of Lille (3e), eight on Monaco (4e) and nine in Nice (5e).
