The heavy and historic defeat of Montpellier at home against Marseille last weekend (0-5) got the better of the presence on the bench of Michel Der Zakarian. “ Here, I am simply ashamed for my club, the supporters and for myselfsays President Laurent Nicollin. I told my players this evening: they blew up the coach and had better be better next Sunday against Toulouse. If we don’t do anything, we’ll go straight there. Something had to be done. I hope we get a quick reaction now, although I may be wrong.
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After saving the furniture at OM last season – with the added bonus of an unexpected Europa League semi-final – veteran technician Jean-Louis Gasset was called to the rescue to help the Pailladins rectify the situation. A delicate mission whose full complexity he was able to measure this Sunday while the MHSC received the TFC as part of the 9e
lifting of Ligue 1.
An alarming series
Too quickly overwhelmed, the Héraultais conceded two goals in the space of eight minutes, a double from Aboukhlal (5e8e) which did not fail to plunge them into darkness. King added a third achievement to Toulouse’s demonstration before the half-hour mark (27e). A shipwreck made even more tragic by the red card inflicted on Captain Savanier for a bad gesture upon returning from the locker room (51e).
More than ever, Montpellier must fight to stay in Ligue 1, already weighed down by seven defeats in nine contested days – including four consecutive. At this stage, the MHSC is three points behind the first non-relegation place, Angers. Nothing insurmountable, therefore, even if the dynamics observed in recent weeks are inevitably worrying.
