Marseille is in freefall, De Zerbi is helpless.

After an impressive start, Marseille's season is now in serious decline. Coupled with a recent string of poor results, the team is gradually losing its former appeal. The 1-3 defeat against Reims, a team that hasn't won in Ligue 1 since November, in the 27th round of Ligue 1 on March 29th, is perhaps the clearest evidence of the current crisis.

The relationship between De Zerbi and Marseille

While the 1-3 defeat against PSG before the international break wasn't too embarrassing, losing to Reims, a struggling Lens, and Auxerre by three goals is truly worrying. It's worth remembering that Marseille not only spent heavily on high-profile signings like Adrien Rabiot, Amine Gouiri, Mason Greenwood, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, and Ismaël Bennacer, but also placed great expectations on coach De Zerbi, who was believed to bring stability to the team after a series of turbulent seasons.

After changing three coaches last season – Marcelino, Gennaro Gattuso, and Jean-Louis Gasset – Marseille failed to qualify for European competitions. Therefore, the arrival of De Zerbi was seen as a turning point, following his success in Italy and England. Strongly supported by notable signings in the transfer window such as Rabiot, Greenwood, and Elye Wahi, Marseille seemed poised for a revolution.

Initially, the team played brilliantly. Marseille scored consistently, Greenwood adapted quickly, and Luis Henrique – once considered a major mistake – unexpectedly shone. But recently, despite strong additions in the January transfer window with Gouiri and Bennacer, the team's performance has been worryingly inconsistent. Could De Zerbi's impatience in finding the right lineup be overshadowing his tactical approach?

Throughout this period, De Zerbi has constantly changed the lineup, experimented, and has not hesitated to change the positions of players.

Throughout this period, De Zerbi constantly changed the lineup, experimenting and not hesitating to change players' positions. After letting Wahi go, and lacking a natural striker besides Neal Maupay, he used Gouiri in the striker position, dropped Greenwood from the lineup (including in the Le Classique match) and brought Bilal Nadir into the game.

De Zerbi has criticized Greenwood's fitness and stamina when playing a key role, but leaving him out of the starting lineup is probably not a wise decision, especially considering his goalscoring record. He remains second in the Ligue 1 scoring charts this season, behind only Ousmane Dembele.

Despite Greenwood's return to the squad last weekend, Marseille still suffered a defeat, as Reims capitalized on their opportunities to beat De Zerbi's team. A Marseille side lacking cohesion, especially in defense, allowed their opponents to prove too strong.

At the start of the season, Marseille played impressively, employing a 4-2-3-1 system, winning four of their first five matches and holding firm in second place through the Christmas break. However, recently, De Zerbi has switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation, despite the team lacking true central defenders. The results have yet to prove this strategy is sound.

Decisions to restructure the defense.

The absence of Luiz Felipe has forced De Zerbi to make changes to the defense, but is he responsible for these decisions? Lilian Brassier, who impressed with Brest last season and helped them qualify for the Champions League, joined Marseille on loan in the summer. However, he only made nine appearances before being returned to his parent club. Brassier now plays for Rennes and is one of the most impressive players under Habib Beye, helping the team keep five clean sheets in their last five matches.

Mason Greenwood has been left out of the squad by manager De Zerbi recently.

The situation is also not bright for Chancel Mbemba, an experienced player who performed well last season but has yet to get playing time this season. Instead of working with Brassier or bringing Mbemba back into the squad, De Zerbi decided to experiment with full-backs (Pol Lirola, Amir Murillo) and midfielders (Geoffrey Kondogbia) in the center-back position. Felipe, a true center-back, has only played twice since joining in January.

Although Marseille's squad remains strong, De Zerbi's tactics in recent times have failed to create the cohesion the team needs. Constantly experimenting and changing lineups could cost De Zerbi dearly if adjustments aren't made in time. Marseille's hopes of returning to the Champions League – once a nearly certain goal – are now in jeopardy. If De Zerbi cannot find a suitable solution, his future at the club will not last much longer.

Source: https://znews.vn/marseille-roi-tu-do-de-zerbi-bat-luc-post1542336.html