By James Hartwell | Football Writer, Sportspherearena
Football journalist covering the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the global transfer market.
Olympique de Marseille sit second from bottom in Ligue 1 after a 2-1 home defeat to Paris St Germain on Sunday left them with three points from five league games and a fifth successive loss in all competitions.
The alarm bells are ringing at the Vélodrome. A run of poor results has left the club floundering near the foot of the table, the loss of form following financial restrictions imposed before the start of the season.
Marseille could not reinforce their squad after a spending handbrake from both UEFA and French football’s financial watchdog. Record losses forced a cut to the wage bill and the departure of several players. Few expected the struggle to bite this hard this early.
Marseille have three points from five league games and sit second from bottom after five successive defeats in all competitions.
Coach Bruno Genesio, who arrived from Lille at the start of the season, did not hide his frustration after the PSG loss.
“We can suffer defeats, that’s part of football, but being satisfied with honourable defeats, especially four in a row in the league, is not acceptable,” Genesio said.
He added: “In the last few matches, we haven’t got what we deserved, but we also haven’t done enough to deserve better.”
Genesio was clear on his own position. “There is no question of resigning. I’ll take stock with the management, with my staff, and with the players, because for now what matters to me is helping the team improve.”
On the dressing-room mood he was more positive. “On the team’s spirit and commitment, I don’t have much to criticise since the start of the season. We simply have to do better in our own penalty area. We’re conceding far too many avoidable goals.”
Genesio: “There is no question of resigning.” The international break will be used to assess the situation with management, staff and players.
Marseille finished fifth last season. They opened the current campaign with a win but have since lost four successive league matches and suffered a 4-1 defeat at Beşiktaş in their Europa League opener last week.
The next three weeks of the international window give Genesio and the club time to take stock. Their next league fixture is away to Troyes on 11 October, followed four days later by a home Europa League match against Olympiakos.
The financial handbrake left Marseille unable to strengthen. The results that followed were worse than most expected.
The club that finished fifth twelve months ago now finds itself in a relegation scrap after five games. The international break will decide whether the response matches the scale of the problem.
