OM v PSG: De Zerbi lays down his rules ahead of the big clash!

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·19 de septiembre de 2025

OM v PSG: De Zerbi lays down his rules ahead of the big clash!

This Sunday at 8:45 PM (broadcast on Ligue1+) Paris Saint-Germain (1st) faces Olympique de Marseille (7th) at the Stade Vélodrome as part of the 5th day of Ligue 1 2025-2026. In a press conference, Roberto De Zerbi, Marseille's coach, spoke about this match and the Parisian opponent.

De Zerbi "We need to improve in the game and mentality"

"Respecting instructions and his idea of play against Paris Saint-Germain At Santiago-Bernabeu, we were not the same as last year against PSG (lost 0-3 at the Vélodrome and 3-1 at Parc des Princes, Editor's note), it's a different team, different players. The team is strong, Emerson, Pavard, Aubameyang... There are strong and experienced players. Then, the team must speak the same language, with the same idea of play and the same mentality, we need to improve in the game and mentality. It's a path, I hope we'll get there as soon as possible.

De Zerbi "The base, the structure will remain the same"

Nayef Aguerd and Hamed Junior Traoré fit or not against PSG We'll see tomorrow and the day after (for Aguerd), we are following the necessary medical protocols for his health, that's the priority, and we'll see. Traoré got injured on Saturday against Lorient (4-0). In fact, he already had discomfort before. He will be unavailable for a few weeks. The Real match as a base for Paris The bases are there. If we want to speed up the process, we can't always change seven or eight players each time. The base, the structure will remain the same. But for example, for Kondogbia, three matches in eight or nine days, I don't know if it's risky. He's an important player. But we have other solutions, Angel Gomes, Vermeeren who is young but very strong, we'll have to see Paixao, how he feels, how Aubameyang is doing, Aguerd as we said, Emerson who played his first match as a starter with us against Real...

De Zerbi "Make sure that 11 players think the same way"

How to make players let go against PSG It takes the necessary time for novelties to become habits, a mechanism. Then, no player is forced to do what he doesn't want to do. With the ball, the choice depends on the player. Making sure that 11 players think the same way slows down the game at first and then it becomes innate. Against Aston Villa in preparation for example, with Rabiot, Rowe, Medina who played in his position, we were more natural. Now, it's true that we've stepped back a bit in this area."

De Zerbi plays the card of lucidity. He clearly wants to build a team capable of standing up to PSG, but he doesn't fall into the trap of grand declarations. In his speech, you can feel the ambition, but also the caution: he talks about a "path," "mechanisms," as if to remind that all this takes time. In short, he sets a course without making promises he can't yet keep.

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Paris remains the giant, Marseille is still under construction. And he, rather than moving forward, prefers to prepare his players to build a true identity of play. No grand speeches to thrill the audience, but a posture of a patient builder. It's a simple message: we want to catch up with PSG, but it won't happen overnight.

PSG remains a fascinating enigma: even with absentees and incomplete preparation, it continues to impose its law. The Parisian squad is so dense that injuries or rotations don't seem to really weaken the structure. It's almost a paradox: where other clubs would falter with key players missing, Paris maintains its strength, as if its system absorbs everything.

For OM and De Zerbi, it's an additional puzzle. How to prepare a precise plan against a team that changes faces without losing strength? The truncated preparation on the Parisian side reassures no one, on the contrary: it's when you think PSG is vulnerable that it becomes the most dangerous.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.