‘We no longer have the fire inside us’ – Roberto De Zerbi on Marseille loss to Reims

Is there a crisis building at Olympique de Marseille following a third straight defeat in the league? Les Olympiens are still in a position to qualify for the Champions League even if they were overtaken by AS Monaco, and are only precariously sat two points above Nice who are in fourth.

The discourse was somber from manager Roberto De Zerbi at Stade Auguste Delaune, pointing the blame mainly at the mentality of his players. “You can’t buy mentality in the supermarket. The mentality I see at the moment is not the one I want for my team. I need to explain to the players what I expect from them on this point,” said De Zerbi in his post-match press conference, transcribed by La Provence.

“More generally, what is happening to us today did not happen before. We no longer have that inner fire to win this type of match,” admitted De Zerbi. “From a tactical point of view, I don’t think there’s anything to change. Maybe the mental aspect…”

As a collective punishment for his squad, the Italian coach reportedly ordered his players to stay over at Marseille’s training ground last night, with the players resuming training today after seeing their rest days cancelled by OM’s leadership.

GFFN | George Boxall