‘Controversies created by people who don’t like OM’ – Roberto De Zerbi hits back at criticism of Pavard and Emerson | OneFootball

Speaking in Tuesday’s press conference ahead of the visit of Angers, Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi sought to project calm after back-to-back defeats. The Italian defended Benjamin Pavard and Emerson after recent criticism, dismissing what he called “controversies launched by people who don’t like OM.”“I’ve got some experience at OM now and I don’t let myself get swallowed up by controversies,” said the Marseille boss. “It makes me laugh, all these controversies — they really come from people who don’t like OM.”The manager’s remarks come amid two separate flashpoints: Emerson’s red card for simulation against Sporting and Pavard’s costly errors against Lens, which included an own goal and a conceded penalty.Former PSG and Racing Club de Paris manager Jean-Michel Larqué was one of the critics in the media recently, who claimed that De Zerbi had “a brain freeze” on RMC Sport. “When De Zerbi does things right, we say so. When he slips up, we say so too,” said the former Saint-Étienne player. “Against Sporting, he messed up. Did he have a brain freeze, did his wires get crossed? He had the shovel and the pickaxe and continued to dig the hole.”Les Olympiens get back to Ligue 1 action this midweek against SCO Angers before a trip to Auxerre this weekend. Marseille dropped to third after being defeated by RC Lens (2-1) last weekend, following defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League by the same scoreline.GFFN | George Boxall