Three straight Europa League defeats, Marseille under fire from Petit and Papin

Olympique de Marseille lost 1-0 away at Sturm Graz on Thursday evening in the Europa League, conceding a third consecutive defeat in the competition following losses to Besiktas (4-1) and Olympiakos (1-0). Despite two Ligue 1 victories over Troyes (2-0) and Angers (5-2), the European situation of the Marseille club is causing serious concern in French football circles.

Emmanuel Petit, 1998 World Cup winner, did not mince his words. “I’m worried. The matches follow one another and look the same. This is Marseille, the second-biggest budget in Ligue 1, you can’t just be content with going to win at Angers. Many are in total bankruptcy,” he said. A severity shared by Jean-Pierre Papin, who also played for Marseille: “It’s the first time in a very long time that I see this club without the means to score goals. The behaviour of certain players is staggering. I’m disappointed for Genesio, who has no solution.”

Jérôme Rothen directly targeted the highest-paid players. “There are at least 4-5 players earning between 300,000 and 500,000 euros a month to touch 17 balls against Sturm Graz,” he criticized. “They’re really taking people for fools! They don’t realize they’re at Marseille with everything this club represents.”

The fragility of the squad, which was not strengthened during the last summer transfer window and has lost several key players, is at the heart of the concerns. Bruno Genesio, who arrived on the Marseille bench this summer, finds himself under pressure as his team must quickly turn things around on the European stage to avoid compromising the rest of their Europa League campaign.