Roberto De Zerbi, coach of Olympique Marseille, spoke out after a heavy home defeat to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League.
On 22 Jan 2025 GMT+7, Roberto De Zerbi, Olympique Marseille's coach, harshly criticized his team's poor performance and conceding foolish goals after a 0-3 home loss to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League league phase last night.
In the match, Liverpool scored through Dominic Szoboszlai at 45+1 minutes, a Geronimo Rulli own goal at 73 minutes, and Cody Gakpo at 90+3 minutes. This marked Marseille's fourth loss in seven matches, placing them 19th in the league phase standings, though they still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs.
De Zerbi said, "I don't like talking about regrets. We played poorly and conceded stupid goals from set pieces. Sure, we were up against Liverpool, but knowing that, we should have done more, especially in the first half. We didn't know how to handle Liverpool. We lost possession foolishly because we didn't understand the flow. We kept playing through the middle. After halftime, the game opened up, and when you give Liverpool space, this is what happens."
Additionally, when asked what kind of players he would like to coach, the former Brighton manager replied, "Players I'd want to coach? Martin Odegaard, Florian Vietz, Michael Olise, Cole Palmer, and Dominic Szoboszlai. I think these players could help me win many trophies."