On September 21, the first classic match of the season between Olympique de Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain will take place. It will be an important moment for all the players and fans of both teams. Roberto De Zerbi, coach of OM, spoke about this matchup while stating that he wanted to compete with PSG this season.
De Zerbi: “For me, it’s not a Classico “
“Unfortunately, we’ve never managed to compete with PSG, but no one in Europe has managed to do so. We want to compete with Paris better than we did last season. I’m not saying that PSG is bigger than OM.
I’m saying that they’ve been stronger than OM so far. I’m not the one saying it. The Classico is Juve-Inter, with four wins for Inter, five for Juve, and one draw in ten games. The Classique, PSG-OM, with 19 wins for Paris, three draws, and one win for OM in 23 games, is not a Classico in my opinion. If you want to continue talking about the Classico, talk about the Classico.
De Zerbi: “In that regard, Luis Enrique has been extraordinary.”
When we play against PSG, we want to win, we want to compete, but the truth is there. Paris was unbeatable last season, or almost unbeatable. And this Paris team, which didn’t have Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, or Neymar, was more of a team than the one before. In that regard, Luis Enrique has been extraordinary.“
OM can compete with the capital club in the Ligue 1 standings, as it is normally one of the top three clubs in France. Even if there is a gap, we must not give up and, above all, we must strive to do better.
We can still give credit to De Zerbi, who is fair enough to applaud PSG, that the record in head-to-head matches is clear. We can’t really put the two teams on the same level today. We hope to see the competition strengthen, in Marseille as in other clubs.
This season, Paris could struggle physically after a busy season. But OM, who will be playing in the Champions League this year, will also face a string of matches. This was not the case last season.
Obviously, it would be good for the capital club to have a strong rival in the league. But this year, we may have to rely a little more on AS Monaco, which seems better equipped to compete with PSG in the long term. It is up to OM to do its best to close the gap with its rival, which has no plans to give anything away either. But its influence in Europe can help Ligue 1.
