De Zerbi rates PSG and Monaco higher, dismisses title talk

Having led Olympique Marseille to a 3-2 win against Olympique Lyonnais over the weekend in the Ligue, Roberto De Zerbi has played down title talk of his team, rating defending champions Paris Saint-Germain higher.

When assessing his performance after winning the derby with ten men for a large part of the game, the former Brighton manager does not mention aiming for the French league title.

Both teams ended Matchday Five in Ligue 1. Les Phocéens defeated their bitter rivals in a thrilling 3-2 victory at the Groupama Stadium. 

The victory returned Marseille to the top of the table, level on points with Paris Saint-Germain, while  AS Monaco is in third.

He joined this summer after hitting the ground running and getting results from a team; there are whispers of a three-horse title race building in France.

 However, De Zerbi was quick to dismiss in his postmatch comments, saying their journey had just begun, whereas PSG and Monaco were ahead. 

“We started building in June. I don’t know where it will lead, but we’ll try to win every game,” the coach stated. 

In their latest win, Marseille were reduced to ten men within the first five minutes after captain Leonardo Balerdi received two quick yellow cards. His first came within seconds of the match beginning after a heavy tackle on Corentin Tolisso. He was sent off a short while later for a foul on Alexandre Lacazette.

Although under immense pressure, De Zeebi’s men managed the first half, which ended goalless after Gerónimo Rulli saved his second penalty of the campaign.

It was goals galore in the second half as Duke Ćaleta-Car opened the scoring for Lyon before Pol Lirola leveled the game. 

Marseille then turned it around with an effort from substitute Ulisses Garcia. In injury time, Lyon drew level through Rayan Cherki, who scored with a backheel on his first start of the season. 

As the game was heading to a draw, Marseille had other ideas. Jonathan Rowe scored a 95th-minute winner, allowing Marseille to leave Lyon with maximum points.