Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi gave a nod to an iconic AC Milan coach after his side beat Paris Saint-Germain on Monday night.
For Marseille, ‘Le Clasique’ has not been kind to them for a few years now. However, when a storm saw the game initially scheduled for Sunday night moved to 24 hours later, it was as if there were some intervention from above.
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Sure enough, l’OM beat PSG 1-0 to end a 12-game home losing streak against the French and European champions. The only goal came five minutes in when Nayef Aguerd nodded a cross in after Lucas Chevalier came out for it and flapped at it.
‘Like Sacchi’s Milan’
After the game, coach De Zerbi is being hailed as a hero in Marseille. While underlining the great importance of the victory for his side he mentioned his beloved Milan, with his comments relayed by MilanPress.
“You have to appreciate what’s happening in this stadium. We played a great game, a great first half, then we had a slump in energy. However, we managed to make some good comebacks,” he said.
“Ultimately, the victory is deserved against a team that is making its mark, like Sacchi’s Milan, a team that plays a different kind of football, which adds value to my players’ performances.
“It’s one of the best days since I arrived. I came for the Vélodrome and to beat PSG, the team that represents power, that has won unrivalled for years, something I don’t accept in my philosophy.”
Good coach who should have seriously been considered, instead of Fonseca, along with Francesco Farioli who will very soon find himself in the PL. The latter is off to a 6-0-0 start with Porto after coming within a hair’s breadth of winning the Dutch league in his first and only season there. So far so good with Allegri, but we might have benefitted more in the long run by having a younger more progressive coach like De Zerbi or Farioli hired in 2024. Water under the bridge now I guess.