Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille faced off this Sunday at the Stade Vélodrome as part of Matchday 9 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. The match ended in a 0-3 victory for Paris (OM/PSG video summary). After the match, Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi spoke at a press conference. He complained about the red card given to Amine Harit (27-year-old Marseille attacking midfielder) in the 20th minute, but above all about his team.
De Zerbi: “ If there’s a clash of heads between two players…”.
“What’s your analysis of your match, especially the way you started off, when we didn’t recognize your team?
That’s true. Tonight, we lacked courage and personality, even though we had prepared for this kind of match right up until Harit’s dismissal. It’s a problem, we can lose but when you wear the OM jersey, you can’t play without personality.
What do you think of Amine Harit’s red card?
The referee sent Harit off because he saw the marks on his torso. It doesn’t make sense, because if two players have a head injury and one of them is bleeding, should the other be sent off? That’s not soccer. But I don’t want to talk about that, I don’t want to insist on the risk of being punished, it’s up to you to judge.
De Zerbi: “ I don’t want to play with fear in my stomach”.
Why did your OM team take such a wait-and-see attitude at the start of the game?
I didn’t like the first twenty minutes. If it hadn’t been for the sending-off, we’d have been able to get into the game and break free. I don’t want to play with fear in my stomach, I don’t like that whether it’s Brighton, Sassuolo or OM. I’m not afraid of losing, I’m afraid of playing badly.
As for the red card, De Zerbi’s frustration is understandable, as the red hurts his team. Who were already in trouble. But we find it hard to follow his argument.
In a head-on duel, there may be an impact but not necessarily a foul if both players play the ball with the correct body surface and without using the elbow. It’s not just about hurting. But there’s also the fact that the spikes are protruding from one day’s torso. It’s a dangerous gesture, and one that has hit. It’s rather strange that this should be discussed.
At least Marseille’s coach hasn’t forgotten the essential point: his players didn’t handle the clash very well. They were outplayed from the start, and there’s nothing to say they could have turned the game around. We’ll need to find the mental spark to do better. Perhaps in the next Classico. Because PSG were far superior, with and without a red card.
