Marseille’s defence collapses in draw against Paris FC in Ligue 1
Marseille followed its embarrassing Champions League exit by throwing away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw at Paris FC in Ligue 1. Players stood with hands on hips at the final whistle after yet another sloppy performance where poor defending resurfaced on Saturday. “I’m taking this badly, very badly. It’s difficult to explain,” Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi said.
“The lights went out in the last 10 minutes.” Marseille’s 3-0 loss at Club Brugge on Wednesday, coupled with Benfica’s remarkable injury-time goal against Real Madrid, sent De Zerbi’s side into 25th place in the Champions League table and into the elimination zone. De Zerbi’s side took an early lead at Paris FC thanks to a Mason Greenwood penalty and the English forward set up veteran striker Pierre-Emerick to make it 2-0 in the 54th.
Then it went wrong for Marseille, which has long been hindered by a lack of composure. Paris FC winger Jonathan Ikone scored in the 82nd and midfielder Ilan Kebbal equalised with a stoppage-time penalty, after goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli clumsily fouled a player when claiming a high ball. Not for the first time, De Zerbi questioned the attitude of his players. “In order to win you need to be hungry, to show desire until the end,” De Zerbi said.
“It’s a quality you need to have and I’ve told the players this.” Marseille was six points behind second-placed Paris Saint-Germain —which plays on Sunday — and seven adrift of leader Lens, which won on Friday.
De Zerbi now needs to motivate his players for a French Cup tie at home to Rennes on Tuesday. “That match could come tonight or in one year, it changes nothing because what we’re doing right now isn’t good enough,” De Zerbi said. “We have to be ready, give everything.” Monaco finds form: Monaco routed Rennes 4-0 at Stade Louis II for a third straight clean sheet.
After scraping into the Champions League playoffs in midweek, Monaco won with goals from Ansu Fati, Maghnes Akliouche, Mamadou Coulibaly and Stanis Idumbo. Fati put Monaco ahead in the 33rd with a neat finish into the bottom left corner from the right of the penalty area. It was the former Barcelona prodigy’s seventh league goal in 13 games.
Akliouche made it 2-0 in the 50th with a tap-in and Coulibaly latched onto a clever pass from Mika Biereth shortly after. Biereth then set up Idumbo with a cross from the right. Despite the win, Monaco’s Ultras again chanted for chief executive Thiago Scuro to resign. In Saturday’s other game, defender Arsene Kouassi scored from an 89th-minute free kick as mid-table Lorient beat struggling Nantes 2-1.
