There will be fireworks on Sunday evening. In addition to the derby between Inter and Milan, beyond national borders, a great classic will take place on French soil: Olympique Lyon-Olympique Marseille. Pierre Sage and his men will have the opportunity to face Roberto De Zerbi’s team, who have impressed since the start of the season with 3 wins and 1 draw in their first 4 Ligue 1 games since the Italian coach took over at OM. An overall result that has allowed the Phoenicians to settle into second place with 10 points, two behind league leaders PSG.
Pierre Sage, in today’s press conference, did not hide his enthusiasm for Marseille and the former Brighton coach: “I know De Zerbi well, I’ve known him for a long time. I went to Rome in 2017 to see how he played against Sassuolo and I’m happy to face him today. His former assistant, who was in charge of Nice last season, had the same ideas as Roberto De Zerbi and we managed to channel them. Obviously it’s a satisfaction on a personal level to compete with great coaches like Mourinho, De Zerbi, Luis Enrique and so on. But what matters now is the team. Football is not boxing, it’s eleven against eleven”.
Adding: “De Zerbi’s effect is linked to the amount of work he puts into his game model. He works both in frequency, but also in connection between frequencies, with large blocks of time on the same themes. This can have an impact. There is a balance to be found between infusing principles and bringing something new to keep the players constantly engaged.”
While on the challenge expected in two days: “Can we compete with OM? Yes. Otherwise we would have withdrawn. Yes, we go there with the idea of competing. I don’t think there is a comparison. They started the season very well, but we are not in the same form, so this match can come at the right time to make things clear”. Thirteenth with 4 points in the standings (1 win, 1 draw and 2 defeats), Lyon hopes to take advantage of this ‘Olympico’ to get back on track, but in front of them they have a squad that has strengthened a lot this summer, ultimately with a top player like Adrien Rabiot: “I am not impressed by Marseille’s transfer market. I appreciate their logic, they have worked well, but I am not impressed”, he concluded.