It's a painful result for OM to take, but fascinating to analyze from the outside, as the match against Sporting (lost 2-1) was influenced by various factors. First and foremost, Emerson's sending off. Marseille quickly criticized the refereeing, mainly the first yellow card, which was given for an involuntary handball. That said, the experienced Italian full-back could have avoided looking for the penalty, which resulted in his second yellow card, which was synonymous with an exclusion. In addition to Aubameyang , Roberto De Zerbi also criticized referee Rade Obrenovic, speaking to Canal+ .
"I think that even with 10 men we didn't suffer that much. We conceded a goal after a dribble but they didn't have any great chances. Aguerd anticipated, and the Sporting player found himself in front of goal. They put in quality players, fresh. I was pretty relaxed, even with a player down. In my opinion, we paid for refereeing errors, I didn't like the way the match was refereed. I don't think the referee was good for this match ," he lamented.
De Zerbi's choices contested
But it's also De Zerbi's tactical choices that deserve comment. Indeed, at halftime, he took off Greenwood and Vermeeren, to bring on Murillo and O'Riley. A decision he took the time to justify. "Because they sent off Emrson! We had to defend with 5 and between Greenwood and Paixao, at that moment, the one who had the characteristics to defend and attack was Paixao. Last year, Greenwood, against Lyon with 10, we put him as a center forward and he had a lot of trouble. Even Vermeeren, who had played well, I replaced him (with O'Riley, editor's note) to add a little more weight."
Greenwood therefore paid for his lack of defensive investment, a recurring problem since his arrival on the Canebière, because De Zerbi did not want to change his five-defender system. A choice that made Samir Nasri react on the Canal+ set . "But the match was not lost because of the referee, because I also think that De Zerbi's changes lacked audacity. You have no weight up front and you end up with only defensive players ," he regretted. Greenwood replaced, Paixao positioned in the middle and later replaced by Angel Gomes, Aubameyang was very much alone up front. The entry of O'Riley in place of Vermeeren did not bring the physical impact hoped for either.
A convoluted scenario and OM ended their run of five consecutive victories in all competitions. Even though they had the game in hand. Between questionable refereeing, a player who made the wrong decision, and a coach who was uninspired in his substitutions, the Olympian club couldn't resist the desire, more than the talent, of a Sporting team that also had its share of luck. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the rest of the game.
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