Under-Fire Roberto De Zerbi Declares: 'I Am Ready To War...'

Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi expressed his determination, stating he is “ready to go to war” as the club’s season teeters on the edge following a late collapse in a 2-2 draw at Paris FC on Saturday, concluding a dreadful week.

Mason Greenwood scored a first-half penalty, marking his league-best 13th goal of the season, and provided the assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to double Marseille’s lead early in the second half.

However, still reeling from their painful Champions League exit, Marseille squandered a two-goal lead as Jonathan Ikone’s header revived Paris FC, and Ilan Kebbal equalised with a stoppage-time penalty.

Three days after their improbable exit from Europe, Marseille managed to worsen their already bad week.

Marseille suffered

a 3-0 defeat at Club Brugge on Wednesday, but it was Benfica’s goalkeeper’s last-minute header in a win over Real Madrid that ultimately eliminated De Zerbi’s team from the competition.

De Zerbi dismissed rumours of his resignation following the defeat in Belgium after missing the next day’s training session, revealing he had discussions with club officials to decide the best way forward from the Champions League disappointment.

“Don’t worry about me,” De Zerbi assured reporters on Saturday when questioned about his motivation after Marseille’s latest setback.

“I’m ready to go to war tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. I come from the very bottom, I come from nothing, I’m used to fighting all the time.”

De Zerbi acknowledged the difficulty in accepting his team’s dropped points in the French capital.

“We dominated so much… but in the last 10 minutes, everything switched off,” he explained.

“I’m struggling to explain it, other than to say matches last 100 minutes. And you have to be hungry. The first thing is to be hungry – I’m telling you this because I told the players. What we’re putting in isn’t enough.”

Lorient extended their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to nine matches later on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Nantes.

Arsene Kouassi curled in a superb late free-kick to win it after Nantes forward Matthis Abline cancelled out Bamba Dieng’s opening goal.

Monaco ended a five-match winless streak with a 4-0 thrashing of Rennes, thanks to goals from Ansu Fati, Maghnes Akliouche, Mamadou Coulibaly, and Stanis Idumbo.

Lens reclaimed the top spot above Paris Saint-Germain on Friday after Ruben Aguilar’s goal secured a 1-0 win at home against struggling Le Havre.

Luis Enrique’s team can reclaim first place by avoiding defeat at Strasbourg on Sunday.

(With AFP Inputs)