The clash announced between Olympique de Marseille, third at kick-off, and Paris Saint-Germain, leader, ultimately did not take place. In a white-hot Vélodrome stadium, Luis Enrique’s gang, organized in 4-3-3 with Ousmane Dembélé, Kang In-Lee and Bradley Barcola on the attacking front, quickly air-conditioned the Marseille enclosure, which Sunday evening during the 9th day of Ligue 1. Sharper, more authoritarian in the duels and taking advantage of the Olympians’ defensive generosity – particularly on the sides – the Ile-de-France collective, well helped by the red card addressed to Amine Harit, finally unfolded end to end against the sworn enemy. Ideally launched by its playing master João Neves, author of his first goal in his new colors (7th) after having delivered six assists, PSG then took advantage of a terrible error from Leonardo Balerdi to make the break (29th, csc ) before burying the last hopes of Marseille just before the break on yet another rush from Dembélé, concluded by Barcola at the far post (40th).
A one-way Classic!
Copiously whistled at the break, Roberto De Zerbi’s men, abandoned by some of their supporters, could only plug the gaps upon returning from the locker room and thus limit the damage despite several new huge Parisian chances (47th, 56th, 72nd, 77th, 87th, 90th). Yes, but here it is, if this sparkling victory (3-0) will allow the Rouge et Bleu to consolidate their first place in the standings, it will also leave a very bitter taste for the Ciel et Blanc. The fault lies in a new refereeing controversy while OM was already chasing the score. Sanctioned with a direct red card after a dangerous foot given to the abdomen of Marquinhos, Amine Harit left his partners after only twenty minutes of play. A decision quickly provoking the ire of the Phocaeans. And for good reason. If the fault of the Moroccan attacking midfielder is undeniable, the sanction decided by François Letexier seems more than severe, particularly in view of the position of the number 11 of OM, with his back to the Brazilian defender when he intervenes.
“I don’t even see it happening”cursed the person concerned to the fourth referee. A fact of the game all the more difficult to digest for the residents of the Orange Vélodrome since the evening official did not even take the trouble to watch the VAR images. Present at the DAZN microphone a few minutes after the meeting, the latter nevertheless took the time to justify his decision. “Amine arrives with his leg outstretched. He puts the physical integrity of his opponent in danger, Marquinhos takes off his t-shirt and I see a big mark on his sternum and there, I confirm my decision. The video assistance confirms my decision, sole contact at torso level with an angle not broadcast on TV. I know my decision will have an impact but I am doing my job. If I have to be brave, I have to do it. The endangerment of the integrity of an opponent is there, with an outstretched leg, on the torso with a mark like that”. Sanctioned with a fourth red card in its last six Ligue 1 matches, OM will however not be able to hide entirely behind this turning point in the match as the capital club has shown itself to be superior in all sectors.
Roberto De Zerbi points out the lack of personality
Caught in the intensity, guilty of far too much technical waste and incapable of destabilizing the perfectly oiled block of PSG, the Olympian club could not help but come back to this contentious action at the final whistle. “It’s difficult. We had a lot of expectations. It happened very quickly. We will have to leave again next week. I understand the supporters’ frustration because we are too. We wanted to get closer to the top of the table. The red card was very difficult, but we have to come back against Nantes. We will have to win and continue to work”first indicated Geronimo Rulli into the broadcaster’s microphone. Asked in turn about this fact of play, Roberto De Zerbi preferred, for his part, to point out the attitude of his players. “We got a lot of red cards. I don’t want to know if it was fair or not. We couldn’t do it again like in Lyon. We didn’t play with courage like my team should play. You had to play with courage, that’s why it was more difficult. We will have to continue to work and do more”. Relaunched at a press conference, the Italian technician was however more offensive regarding François Letexier’s decision.
“The referee sent off Harit because he saw the marks on (Marquinhos’) chest. It’s really crazy because if there is a head clash between two players, and one of them is bleeding, then should the other be sent off? That’s not football.”railed RDZ before adding another layer on the lack of personality of his OM. “But I don’t want to talk about that, I don’t want to insist at the risk of being sanctioned, it’s up to you to judge. This evening (Sunday), we lacked courage, personality, even though we had prepared for this type of match until Harit was sent off. It’s a problem, we can lose but when you wear the OM jersey, you can’t play without personality. I didn’t like the first twenty minutes. Without this expulsion, we would have managed to get into the match, to break free. But we will have to make a lucid analysis because I didn’t like this match, I don’t want to play with fear in my stomach, I don’t like it whether it’s Brighton, Sassuolo or OM. I’m not afraid of losing, but of playing badly.”. Passing through the mixed zone, Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg, in turn, confirmed his coach’s words. Stunned, the 29-year-old Dane preferred to assume the consequences of this terrible failure rather than activate the arbitration lever…
The Marseillais do not want to hide behind arbitration
“We are very disappointed, it hurts, it hurts very much, a defeat like that, especially in the first half because in the second, we did what we could, with the heart to leave the field with our heads held high but it’s true that losing 3-0 at home against PSG hurts a lot. The red card doesn’t help us, even more so against PSG who control the ball well but we didn’t attack this match well. It is up to us to take responsibility, to question ourselves. Fortunately we have a coach who analyzes things very well and a locker room with a good mentality but we now have to show that this kind of defeat is not possible. I would love to say words to you, words, but this is difficult. I can just tell you that we must take our responsibilities, assume responsibility and make sure that this doesn’t happen again. The championship is not won today, it is not lost either, it is match by match but it is true that matches like that, for us, for the club, for the people, it is a more important match and it is up to us to be aware of it, to feel it and to question ourselves. We will do everything to come back stronger and put things back in place next Sunday against Nantes. We still have a lot to learn”. Reaction expected in a week on the Beaujoire lawn…
