Marseille pre-season review: New signings showing initial promise

After an active transfer window, Olympique de Marseille were eager to get the new signings onto the pitch and try out new things. New manager Marcelino needed to get a grasp of his squad and the four friendlies ahead of their Champions League play-offs certainly brought some answers to the Spanish coach, but also many new questions.

Marseille play Panathinaikos next week, with the first leg of their European Cup playoff taking place in Greece. According to L’Équipe, no supporters from the French club will be allowed to travel, given the ultras (CU84) have close links to rival club AEK Athens. A tough game therefore awaits them in the stands, meaning they’ll have to show their superiority on the pitch to beat the team who finished second in the Greek league.

To that effect, Marseille chose to play teams of different levels in order to progressively get into the rhythm. They started with a 2-0 win against Nîmes, who recently got relegated to National, before leaving for their pre-season camp in Germany. There, they first lost to Belgian side Eupen (1-0), before beating Dutch side RKC Waalwijk (1-0). To finalise their pre-season, they played their first game of the season at the Orange Vélodrome, losing 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen.

A mixed bag for Marcelino. He managed to get new signings involved, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ismaïla Sarr, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Iliman Ndiaye all getting playing time, all four of them starting together in the final game at home. Renan Lodi coming on later into the game for his first minutes. Young English defender Emran Soglo, who signed for the academy last season, was also heavily involved during these games.

After last night’s game against Leverkusen, Marcelino told L’Équipe that the team “showed a good level” but that it was a shame to concede two goals. “We need to improve our defending of set pieces (…) I like our playing style; we gave few chances to the opponents. I am happy”, he added.

Many early conclusions can be made from these games, and not all are positive. At fault on both goals last night, Pau López has not convinced his manager, although if last season is anything to go by, it could be just a blip. He now has competition from Rubén Blanco, the 28-year-old goalkeeper who recently arrived from Celta Vigo, who is there to compete for the starting position.

Meanwhile, Kondogbia is probably the signing who has showed the most promise, settling in well in midfield alongside Jordan Veretout, intercepting the ball often and stopping the German counterattacks. He does get in the way of his goalkeeper on the opening goal by Jonathan Tah, but overall, his experience and talent have shone through, with the club hoping he can match his best performances from his time in Monaco and Atlético Madrid.

Sarr and Ndiaye were a little more hectic, running around a lot and trying out numerous things. It is pre-season, that is what the games are for, and no doubt that they will start fitting into the team over time. The ex-Watford winger occupied space on the right, with a lot of motivation to defend, while Ndiaye showed glimpses of what he was capable of with Sheffield United last season, with intricate dribbling and chance creation. So far, Aubameyang hasn’t had many opportunities to shine, with few balls coming to his feet. However, his motivation to succeed shines through.

Marcelino showed he didn’t have a doubt that the attackers’ adaptation will take time, stating they will be “better next week”. As Amine Harit and Ruslan Malinovskyi’stransfers were made permanent this summer after relatively successful loans, it will be interesting to see how they fit into this attack, the former still sidelined by an ACL injury.  

This pre-season has also been a chance for Marcelino to stamp his methods onto the team after a difficult season off the field with Igor Tudor. Setting up cameras on the side of the pitch to analyse training sessions, one of the assistants also used a drone to film from up above and bring a different perspective to the sessions in order to improve the team. While he is taking intensive French classes online, his explanations of the work to be done during the following training sessions are still translated by his assistant “Pancho” Abardonado. Particularly strict in his demands of the players, he does not hesitate to stop certain drills during training. His methods will come through over time, helped by his regular team of assistants he has had over many years.

The squad is improving, while keeping the strengths from last season. Chancel Mbemba, while being injured, could be part of the contingent of players who could depart the club beforethe end of the window. With six signings, the board seems happy with the work done in terms of incomings, but the club needs to bring in some money to balance the books after spending over €50 million this summer. A win against Panathinaikos seems essential to that effect, in order to get hold of the Champions League prize money.

GFFN | Tom Abadie