Less aggressive, less on the legs, less dangerous and less efficient, entangled in their poor results at home, where they face the poorly ranked Troyes on Sunday, OM are not going through a very prosperous period but must find solutions to achieve their objective. Champions League.
“At the start of the season, there were doubts. But here, no. We were second all along, that means we worked well, ”assured Marseille goalkeeper Pau Lopez on Friday.
But the Spanish goalkeeper knows all the same that this famous second place, which sends directly to the Champions League, was transformed last week into third position, much less exciting, and that the end of the Marseille season would not resist a new poor performance on Sunday at the Vélodrome.
In their stadium, the Marseillais have indeed not won for three months and a success against Lorient (3-1) and the difficulties they encounter in the game are exacerbated against grouped opponents.
“We have to be honest with ourselves, it’s not enough in the last two games. Everyone must give a little more,” admitted Pau Lopez on Sunday after a series of draws against Montpellier (1-1) and Lorient (0-0).
“We have to find this game which allowed us to create five or ten chances per game. At the moment, we don’t have enough hot actions, ”said captain Valentin Rongier for his part.
Less bloody and less inspired, OM have also become easier to read for their rivals, who have learned to decode the pressing established by Igor Tudor, all the more easily since he is much less furious than at the start of the season. . “The teams expect us a little more, it’s harder. After 30 days, the teams know each other better,” explained Pau Lopez on Friday.
“Teams are adapting and getting five behind. We worked on it to produce more. We have to find solutions, perhaps by doing things differently, but above all by doing them better,” said Tudor. If he offers to do better rather than do otherwise, it is because the Croatian technician has repeatedly affirmed that his idea of play was not particularly negotiable or adaptable.
“A lot of coaches will tell you, plan Bs don’t exist. If we have a plan A, we have an idea. We pass it on in training, we work on it, we improve it”, he summarized again before the trip to Reims a month ago.
But if the project is therefore not going to fundamentally change on the 31st day, Tudor nevertheless gave some possible avenues for improvement, repeating that his team had recently lacked “lucidity, quality and the desire to put it to the bottom » and that she had to « give something more in the last 20 meters ».
He added that a two-point pass was “possible”, which would give more space for Vitinha and provide more support for Alexis Sanchez. He also acknowledged that his pistons “suffered a little lately”, which could open a door to Issa Kaboré or a move from Sead Kolasinac to this position.
He also warned that central defender Chancel Mbemba, curiously replacing Lorient, would start on Sunday and announced that the technical staff had been reinforced by the arrival of an additional physical trainer, the Italian Gianni Brignardello.
And if all this is not enough, OM can also hope that Paris SG, their old enemy, will help them a little by beating Lens (2nd) this Saturday. But this track does not fascinate Pau Lopez. “I don’t expect anything from this game. I just want three points against Troyes,” warned the Marseille goalkeeper. Crucial game.