It was a bruising draw for Roberto De Zerbi’s squad, moreso because Angers had dropped to ten men in the 26th minute when a reckless tackle from Lilian Raolisoa (24) was upgraded from a yellow card to a red after the intervention from VAR. However, four minutes later, Neal Maupay (28) would be sent off for accumulating two yellows in quick succession. 

It felt like a wasted chance, and De Zerbi was quick to accept the criticism of his side for failing to take advantage of the situation and punishing the worst-performing team in the league. “As I accepted the compliments after Lyon, Nice, Toulouse, Brest, I accept the criticism.” 

Roberto De Zerbi on Marseille’s start

“We have to accept it,” the Italian manager stated, “These results, after a good start, are annoying but we have to be fair and aware that we are building a new Marseille, it goes through difficult days but I have confidence in my players. We conceded a free kick when we had just scored, [and] we scored the goal for 2-1 but there was a handball.” 

He continued, “We have to have more character. Things can’t happen like that. I’m not asking for time like other coaches, but I know that it takes [time] to build teams, it’s hard to have everything right away, the game, the mentality, the physique… We have to stay focused, give more, work, take care of the details…we have to improve on these aspects.” 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Olympique de Marseille dropped points two weeks in a row as they fell to a shocking 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Angers SCO. A promised bounce-back failed to emerge as two red cards coloured the evening’s events. 

The Match

“If the players alternate between good and bad performances, it means that they aren’t at the level to play for OM,” Roberto De Zerbi had warned in his pre-match press conference. It was clear that the 1-0 defeat to RC Strasbourg Alsace last weekend was still fresh in the Italian manager’s mind, and the changes came thick and fast. 

Amine Harit, Lilian Brassier, and Elye Wahi were all placed on the chopping block as De Zerbi brought in Valentin Carboni, Ulisses Garcia, and Neal Maupay to the starting lineup. For Carboni and Maupay in particular it was their big chance to impress. Harit’s performances had kept Carboni out, while Wahi’s price tag had perhaps done the same to his backup. 

Despite the message being made loud and clear, Marseille struggled against an Angers that was happy to sit back and ask to be broken down. Les Phocéens could sweep through the midfield but came unstuck when looking for the final ball into the box, a venomous shot from Mason Greenwood in the 9th minute being the best chance. 

It looked as if Marseille would find their break when Lilian Raolisoa was sent off in the 26th minute for a reckless tackle on Garcia. The referee’s original decision was upgraded from a yellow card after consulting VAR. However, there were already warning signs of what would happen next as Maupay argued and bickered with the Angers team that asked Garcia to get to his feet. 

The resulting freekick was safely handled by Yahia Fofana before Maupay clattered into the goalkeeper needlessly earning a yellow, a few minutes later he would earn his second for a late tackle. Marseille’s advantage was gone and the twenty-man game suited Angers who threatened from counters. 

Halftime brought a change as Jonathan Rowe was added to the fray. The Englishman opened the scoring in the 51st minute as he took advantage of Angers’ inability to clear their lines. He latched onto a loose ball in the box and poked his shot low and to the left-hand corner. The lead wouldn’t last and El Melali fired home from a free kick to keep the game in the balance. 

Marseille thought they had taken the lead again when Pierre-Emile Højbjerg spotted Garcia in space. The fullback unmarked delivered a perfect cross to his right-sided counterpart Michael Amir Murillo. The ball was in the net, but VAR spotted that the ball hit Murillo’s hand before going in. 

The minutes ticked away. Marseille pushed high up the pitch, but the goal wouldn’t come. On a night when De Zerbi had made it clear that changes had to be made from the defeat to Strasbourg and the gap between Les Phocéens and their rivals Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco could get no larger, the club suffered a bruising and frustrating draw to the team sat at the very bottom of the Ligue 1 table. 

Marseille player ratings

Gerónimo Rulli – 7

Ulisses Garcia – 6

A promising evening for the only fit left-back in the squad. He was one of Marseille’s brightest outfield players and believed he should have helped record an equaliser, if not for Murillo’s infraction. He was replaced by Lilian Brassier in the 82nd minute. 

Derek Cornelius – 5

Replaced by Adrien Rabiot after the hour mark. 

Leonardo Balerdi – 5

Michael Amir Murillo – 6

Replaced by Amine Harit in the 88th minute. 

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 5

Geoffrey Kondogbia – 5

Luis Henrique – 4

Replaced by Elye Wahi after the hour mark. 

Valentín Carboni – 4

A disappointing first start in place of Amine Harit albeit in strange circumstances considering the striker he was meant to connect with was sent off after 30 minutes. Still, Carboni did not do enough during the first half and struggled to connect with his teammates. He was taken off at half-time for Jonathan Rowe. And the Englishman showed far more danger possibly doing enough to suggest that he should be starting after the international break. 

Mason Greenwood – 4

The former Manchester United forward had started the season in good form but spent most of this evening looking frustrated. His shots became increasingly more speculative and less likely to find the net. His first chance in the 9th minute perhaps being his best in a frustrating 1-1 draw. 

Neal Maupay – N/A

GFFN | Nick Hartland

The gala event between the two nations will be held on November 15 at Stade Raymond-Kopa, the home of Angers SCO.

The match will feature players from both teams previously featured in Ligue 1, including Ronaldinho, who won the Intertoto Cup with Paris Saint-Germain in 2001.

The former World Cup champion and Ballon d’Or winner will play alongside Brazilians Valdo, Cris, Maicon, Cláudio Caçapa and Sonny Anderson, to name a few.

On the French side, 2006 World Cup runner-up Claude Makélélé will be among those representing Les Bleus.

These two nations have met four times before at the World Cup, with the French emerging victorious on three occasions, including a 1-0 triumph in the 2006 quarter-finals thanks to a goal by Thierry Henry.

France’s first World Cup triumph in 1998 came against the Brazilians at the Stade de France as a brace from Zinédine Zidane and one goal by Emmanuel Petit gave Les Bleus a 3-0 victory, the worst finals defeat for Brazil at the time.

Brazil won the last two meetings against Les Bleus, coming from behind to beat them 3-1 in a 2015 friendly match played in Saint-Denis. There is no word on what other French players will participate in the special event.

Jogo Dos Famosos is organising the gala match.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

The French full-back is nearing a return from injury but will not be fit enough to face Angers. Ismaël Koné, Bam Meïte, Valentin Rongierm and Faris Moumbagna also miss out. The latter is expected to miss much of the current campaign. 

In Merlin’s absence, Lilian Brassier is expected to start at left-back. Roberto De Zerbi has a choice to make up-front. Elye Wahi was brought in to be the first-choice No.9 but he has so far failed to impress. When given the chance, Neal Maupay has impressed and so Wahi is under increasing pressure to retain his spot. However, the former RC Lens striker is expected to start over Maupay for Marseille this evening. 

Marseille likely lineup v Angers

Geronimo Rulli; Lilian Brassier, Leonardo Balerdi, Derek Cornelius, Michael Murillo; Geoffrey Kondogbia, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg; Luis Henrique, Amine Harit, Mason Greenwood; Elye Wahi. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Wahi has yet to score from open play (his one goal of the campaign coming from a penalty in Marseille’s first game of the season) and has registered several disappointing performances. Wahi’s case has not been helped by the arrival of Neal Maupay (28) who has settled swiftly into the Marseille team since arriving on loan but with an obligation to buy from Everton. 

On Maupay’s only start (the rest of his limited minutes coming from the bench) in a match against OGC Nice, the former Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion forward put the ball into the back of the net twice, although one of these was ruled out for being offside. 

It has placed Wahi’s performances under the microscope and the pressure is on for the striker to perform against bottom-of-the-table Angers SCO in tomorrow evening’s fixture. However, his teammate, Gerónimo Rulli (32) has urged patience with the striker. 

Gerónimo Rulli on Elye Wahi: ‘He’s a great player but he’s also very young.’ 

In today’s press conference, the Argentine international came to Wahi’s defence, “He’s a great player but he’s also very young. In football, you experience ups and downs when you’re young. The most important thing is that he has the confidence of the coach, the staff, and his teammates, and he has that. When he manages to score and regain confidence it’ll help us a lot. It’s a pleasure to have him with us, we must be a little patient.” 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

According to a report by Ouest-France, the centre-back who conceded a penalty in Nantes’ 2-2 draw against AS Saint-Étienne allowing the visitors to equalise (only a week after he gave away a penalty in the 1-1 draw against Angers SCO) did not respond well to the coach’s criticism following the game. 

The French outlet writes that Castelletto responded inappropriately to Kombouaré. The centre-back has since apologised in front of his teammates for his actions. However, he will train all week in the reserves and likely miss the weekend’s fixture against Olympique Lyonnais, in order to play for the reserves in their game with Panazol. 

This is not the first time this season that a Nantes player has been sanctioned and sent to the reserves by Kombouaré. Marcus Coco was reportedly late for training and was given a similar punishment to Castelletto. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Wahi scored a penalty in the first game of the campaign against Stade Brestois but has failed to register his name on the scoresheet in any of the following matches. The forward was whistled off the pitch against Stade de Reims in late August after he missed several chances. 

The striker had been the clear first-choice striker at the start of the campaign, however, the arrival of Neal Maupay (28) after Faris Moumbagna (24) was injured against Brest has led to questions over Wahi’s future as the starting number nine. 

Due to an injury to Wahi, Maupay started the derby against OGC Nice where he scored and had another effort ruled out for being offside. There is the sense that the former Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion forward has also carried a greater threat than Wahi during his limited minutes off the bench. 

Marseille to host Angers SCO 

According to L’Équipe, De Zerbi still has “unwavering confidence” in Wahi, but the pressure is on for the forward to begin showing more than he has already done this season. Marseille host bottom-of-the-table Angers SCO on Friday evening and it could be an important chance for the former Lens man to underscore why he should remain the starter. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Dujeux took over this team in March 2023, winning just two Ligue 1 fixtures at the helm between then and the end of that campaign, as Angers were relegated.

He guided them back to the top flight in his first full campaign as their manager, finishing second in Ligue 2 a season ago.

The previous domestic campaign saw Les Scoistes improve by 50 points (68) from the 2022-23 season, when they wound up bottom of Ligue 1.

They currently find themselves at the bottom of the table with just two points from six league fixtures.

Before his arrival at Pays de la Loire, Dujeux was the interim boss at Tours, helping them narrowly avoid relegation during the 2014-15 Ligue 2 season.

Dujeux played over 300 matches for various French clubs, primarily in the second tier, including over 300 appearances at Châteauroux.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

This weekend, Les Noirs et Blancs will become the 26th French club to play 300 Ligue 1 fixtures in the 21st century.

The club that produced the first-ever French Ballon d’Or winner, Raymond Kopa, are currently competing in their ninth top-flight campaign this century.

Over that span, Angers have suffered 136 defeats in this competition while winning just 82 Ligue 1 encounters in that time, which leaves the Pays de la Loire club with a win percentage of 27% in the French top flight.

Their highest finish in the 2000s was ninth place in 2015-16. Their 136 Ligue 1 defeats are among the most for French sides in the competition this century.

Of all French clubs that have played at least 300 Ligue 1 fixtures in the 2000s, only FC Metz (155), ESTAC Troyes (151) and AC Ajaccio (144) have lost more top-flight fixtures than Angers.

In their previous top-flight campaign, Angers picked up 28 losses, the most that any side has ever accumulated in Ligue 1 over a 38-match campaign. After five matchdays, in their return to Ligue 1, Alexandre Dujeux’s men are bottom of the table with three defeats.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

This is the first time in the history of this competition that three newly promoted Ligue 1 sides find themselves in the relegation zone in the 18-team era.

Between those three sides, they have a combined two wins domestically in 2024-25, with a total of nine goals scored between the three, which is eight fewer than the highest-scoring unit in this competition have alone, Paris Saint-German.

It is the first time in nearly a decade that all three newly-promoted sides are in this position.

The last time this happened was during the 2014-15 Ligue 1 campaign when SM Caen, RC Lens and FC Metz were in the bottom three places by matchday 23.

On that occasion, Caen were the only side of those three to remain in the French top flight beyond that season.

Angers, Saint-Étienne and Auxerre have conceded a combined 36 goals in the league this season, just one fewer than what the top eight teams in the table have given up between them so far.

While things are not looking good for the newly promoted sides right now, history suggests the poor start by all three is not necessarily a death sentence.

Never in the 21st century have we seen every promotional side get relegated in their first season back in the French top flight.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre