L’Équipe report today that internal issues are rife at Marseille amid a run of poor results of late, not least the home loss to Clermont over the weekend.
Manager Jorge Sampaoli is said to be struggling to bring his team together, amid a period in which the tactical set-up of the team has drastically changed from game to game.
Club captain Dimitri Payet had stated after the latest loss that the team was “lacking in humility”, while midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi later responded that “everyone is free to believe what they want”. This indirect exchange is reported to have been just part of a tense post-match for Marseille, with the players letting out their anger.
Although several players have individual issues, such as Payet and Arkadiusz Milik’s lack of understanding on the pitch, or Álvaro González and Steve Mandanda’s lack of playing time and Boubacar Kamara’s future, the main issues appears to be a lack of understanding with regard to Sampaoli’s decisions.
Notably, Milik has been surprised that a preferential system going forward has not been worked on in training, while also fully aware of the club’s desire to sell him this winter. The Pole has publicly spoken of his inability to understand the fact he has often been left on the bench, namely after the away win against Metz.
Marseille remain second in the league, but have seen their lead over Nice cut down to just one point after last week’s result. They face Troyes next, after facing Qarabağ tonight in their Europa League knockout tie second leg.