One victory, three draws, two defeats.
The record of Olympique de Marseille in all competitions in 2024 leaves no room for doubt: the Marseille club is no longer moving forward.
Held in check (1-1) by a weak Metz team, which remained on a series of seven defeats in the championship, this Friday at the Stade Vélodrome at the opening of the 21st day of Ligue 1, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his teammates left the lawn under the bronca of their supporters.
🥶 The whistles of the Vélodrome, disappointed once again with the result obtained from his team. #OMFCM pic.twitter.com/JNKiOaagGM
— Prime Video Sport France (@PVSportFR) February 9, 2024
A situation which pushed Gennaro Gattuso, OM coach since September 2023, to speak for the first time of “a mini-crisis” in a post-match press conference.
Resolutely positive in his communication despite the sad seventh place occupied by his team, the technician nevertheless stays the course
as for the rest of the Marseille season, driven by the objective of obtaining a top 4 synonymous with qualification for the Champions League.
“If I don’t believe it, I’m going home”
“We haven't won for five games and it may seem utopian to talk about this fourth place.
But if I don’t believe in this goal, I’m going home,” said the former AC Milan coach.
“We have a duty to honor this jersey.
There are still a lot of matches and I don't see why not believe in it.
But you have to win the matches.
I am the captain of this ship, these are my responsibilities.
I must do everything to get him to his destination.
We finished with 72% possession having played with 10 men, that has never happened to me in my career,” he admitted, referring to the red card conceded by his captain Samuel Gigot after half an hour of play.
Despite only one victory in 2024, won against the amateurs of Thionville in the Coupe de France, Gattuso remains satisfied with the state of mind of his group.
“The club, me and the fans asked for a different mentality, more commitment and it showed.
The team has done a lot.
It hurts but we have to start from this mentality, from this will.
I can't say that the players didn't do the right thing in the engagement.
What we asked for, we saw.
We must continue, it’s the only possible way,” he concluded, while a perilous week awaits OM.
The Phocaeans will first return to the Europa League on Thursday February 15 with a match against Shakhtar Donetsk before traveling to Brest, 3rd in Ligue 1.