Doukouré had been expected to leave Strasbourg in the summer of 2023, before the arrival of Chelsea owners BlueCo changed the situation. It was at that moment that RCSA adopted a new youth-centric strategy, and selling one of their most promising prospects was not on the agenda. “Once BlueCo arrived, the sales strategy changed,” said the RCSA midfielder.

However, at the end of last season, there was once again a similar situation, as Doukouré told L’Équipe. “I wanted to leave during two transfer windows. I wanted to progress more, in another league,” he said. Whilst Doukouré did not extend his contract, as Les Alsaciens had wanted ahead of the 2023/24 season, he did at least remain, with then-manager Patrick Vieira and the hierarchy “finding the right words” to convince him to stay. 

Amid interest from Wolfsburg, Doukouré once again wished to depart this summer but once again, that request was blocked. Behdad Eghbali played a role in keeping the midfielder at the club. As a result, Doukouré was once again re-integrated into the set-up, and once again, he is playing an important role at Strasbourg. 

“The transfer window ended, the season started and I didn’t have the time to ask myself ‘Should I have done this or that’. Once I understood that I was staying, I didn’t get worked up. There was no awkwardness when I was reintegrated,” he said. Doukouré’s current deal with Strasbourg runs until the summer of 2026, meaning that a decision, either a renewal or a departure, will have to be taken at the end of the current campaign. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

BlueCo’s ownership of the Ligue 1 side has been contested and ressentment has been evident at every matchday since. Be it through marches, banners in the Meinau, or via communiqués from groups such as Ultra Boys 90, a significant section of RCSA’s fans have made it clear what they think of their American owners, who also own Premier League giants Chelsea.

Strasbourg conceded within first 5 minutes against Lens

This season, despite strong performances, those protests have continued. For the first 15 minutes of every match, home and away, Strasbourg’s ultras go silent, refusing to be vocal in their support of the team. Whilst Les Alsaciens, currently seventh in Ligue 1 and with just one loss all season, are performing well under new manager Liam Rosenior, the Englishman nonetheless feels as though the protests are having a negative impact on the pitch. 

“Yes, I think that my players suffer from a lack of atmosphere in the first 15 minutes. I think that everyone working around the club want it to be successful in the long term. We all need to be together to make this club grow. This talented group deserved to be supported from the opening minutes,” said Rosenior after Strasbourg’s 2-2 draw against RC Lens, during which they conceded within the first five minutes. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

The Belgian coach announced on Friday that central defender Jonathan Gradit suffered an ankle sprain, joining a long list of absentees for Les Sang et Or this weekend.

Sidi Bane and Hamzat Ojediran are out because of a hamstring strain, while Jimmy Cabot is still recovering from a knee issue.

Other absentees include Hervé Koffi (back), Martín Satriano (ACL), and Kevin Danso (heart), Neil El Aynaoui (muscle), while Rémy Labeau and Anass Zaroury are both suspended.

The news regarding Danso is encouraging in the long term as the Austrian defender published a medical statement on his social media handle that authorised him to play again.

Four of Still’s players will feature on the international stage next week, including Andy Diouf (France U-21), Przemyslaw Frankowski (Poland), Nampalys Mendy (Senegal) and Deiver Machado (Colombia).

Heading into this encounter, Lens are sixth in the table with 10 points and undefeated to this stage of the campaign.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

Instead, Abdukodir Khusanov, Facundo Medina and Ruben Aguilar will start. When fit, Danso is expected to replace Khusanov, who has nonetheless been impressive in the Austria international’s absence. 

Danso isn’t the only absentee. Anass Zaroury and Rémy Labeau-Lascary are both suspended for Lens, whilst other first-teamers such as Jonathan Gradit, Jimmy Cabot, Neil El-Aynaoui and Martín Satriano are out injured. The latter recently suffered an ACL injury and is now expected to be out for much of the season.

Lens likely lineup v Strasbourg

Brice Samba; Facundo Medina, Abdukodir Khusanov, Ruben Aguilar; Deiver Machado, Andy Diouf, Adrien Thomasson, Przemyslaw Frankowski; Angelo Fulgini; Florian Sotoca, M’Bala Nzola. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Liam Rosenior’s side are in top form currently and the manager is therefore expected to trust in (almost) the same set of players against Lens. That means that Djordje Petrovic, who impressed against Marseille, will keep his place in the Strasbourg goal against Lens.

Diego Moreira will continue to function in what is becoming an increasingly familiar role at left-wing-back; Andrey Santos will start in the midfield and Sébastien Nanasi will partner Emanuel Emegha up front. 

Strasbourg likely line-up v Lens

Djordje Petrovic; Abakar Sylla, Saïdou Sow, Guéla Doué; Diego Moreira, Ismaël Doukouré, Andrey Santos, Dilane Bakwa; Habib Diarra; Sébastien Nanasi, Emanuel Emegha. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Donning the 47 shirt, the former Dijon winger could be set to make his Ligue 1 debut against the club from Northern France. Messi is a new signing at the Stade de la Meinau after completing a move worth €1.2m, including bonuses from National 1 side Dijon. The 17-year-old has signed a three-year contract with Strasbourg. 

The promising French talent was expected to be integrated into the Racing club’s academy this season. However, Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior must have been impressed with Messi in training and has taken the decision to include him in his squad for the first time with a view to a potential debut. 

GFFN | Liam Wraith

Results have not always gone RC Strasbourg Alsace’s way since the new coach arrived over the summer and Le Racing have shown a tendency to drop points from commanding positions, as well as an inability to capitalise on their moments of dominance. 

The weekend before last, Strasbourg were 3-2 up against Lille OSC. The club had several chances to extend their lead in the second half, and by all accounts, they should have recorded four or five goals against a club that were staring down a fifth straight defeat in a row. 

Instead, Strasbourg would concede a penalty in the last ten minutes allowing for Jonathan David to step up to the spot and record an 85th-minute equaliser. It was a familiar problem considering Strasbourg had dropped points from winning positions in all but one of their previous four games this season. 

There was little wonder then that doubts began to creep into the Stade de la Meinau yesterday evening when Strasbourg entered the final few minutes of their clash with Olympique de Marseille. However, Strasbourg had already been “through the pain” and this time, there would be no collapse. 

A 19-year wait ended by a makeshift fullback

Every clearance was celebrated in the final quarter of an hour by a Strasbourg bench that was more than happy to lead the cheerleading efforts and support their onfield teammates as they weathered a late storm. Le Racing held strong against the flood of Marseille players to record a famous 1-0 victory against a team they hadn’t beaten since 2005. 

The difference maker and the player who would end the 19-year wait for a victory was Diego Moreira who arrived on a permanent transfer this summer from sister club Chelsea FC. He had spent the first half of last season on loan in France when he was sent to Olympique Lyonnais. However, he would be recalled to Chelsea in January. 

Moreira only made six appearances for Lyon during his brief and disappointing spell, while his time at the London club was spent in the reserves. He arrived at Strasbourg as someone who was expected to be involved in the forward line but has instead found game time as a makeshift fullback covering for the injury to Chelsea loanee Caleb Wiley. 

In only his third appearance in an unfamiliar position, Moreira would record his first career goal. The fullback who has rapidly earned his place in the team would overlap Sebastian Nanasi and poke his shot underneath goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli in a well-executed movement. 

Strasbourg aggressive and relentless 

Like many of their games this season, Strasbourg had been the far more impressive team throughout the majority of the match. The club under Rosenior have implemented an aggressive and relentlessly high press and on Sunday evening it completely suffocated Marseille. 

With the Marseille manager, Roberto De Zerbi, forced to admit that his team had come out worse in “80% of the duels.” Marseille were consigned to their first defeat of the season, and their worst performance in these early stages of the 2024/25 campaign. 

It was a game that suggests that something exciting is being built in the East of France. Ligue 1’s youngest team (with Djordje Petrović being the oldest Strasbourg player on the field at 24 years old) is brimming with potential, and it appears as if the league is beginning to take notice. 

It is perhaps too early to suggest that this could be a statement victory in Strasbourg’s season. However, the more scalps that Strasbourg can take, the harder it will be to ignore the importance of a match where Le Racing proved they could dig deep and come away with all three points. 

This week’s Ligue 1 subplots

• AS Monaco marked their centenary in style with a 2-1 victory over Montpellier HSC. The Stade Louis ii was crammed with past faces watching on as club’s young talents point to a bright future. Read the full story HERE.

• Paris Saint-Germain would bounce back from a surprising draw against Stade de Reims with a victory over Stade Rennais. Bradley Barcola the star in the club’s preparatory game ahead of a daunting trip to face Arsenal. Read the match report HERE.

• Olympique Lyonnais were rescued by a late victory in their match away at Toulouse FC. The club were far from convincing but a second victory in a row could begin to kickstart Les Gones campaign. Read the match report HERE.

GFFN | Nick Hartland

However, it quickly became evident that Chelsea were going to once again dip into the transfer market for another goalkeeper and they did so, signing Filip Jörgensen, however, to the surprise of many, it has been Sanchez who has reclaimed the No.1 jersey under new manager Enzo Maresca. 

In need of minutes, Petrovic was therefore loaned out to partner club RC Strasbourg Alsace. Since arriving at RCSA late in the transfer window, he has now started in their last three games, including Sunday night’s win over Olympique de Marseille. The Serbian made crucial saves in that win over OM, which means that since Petrovic took his place between the sticks, Strasbourg have gone unbeaten.

However, speaking in a mixed zone interview post-match, he revealed his ultimate dream is to return to parent club Chelsea and establish himself. “I have a big responsabiltiy on my chest to show my quality because I played in the Premier League, at the highest level. I am focused on Strasbourg; I am happy to be here. That is my goal, to be No.1 at Chelsea, one of the best teams in the world,” he said.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

The Italian had warned in his Friday press conference that Marseille should expect sterner competition than from the weekend before when they clashed with bitter rivals Olympique Lyonnais. And De Zerbi’s words rang true, Le Racing recorded their second victory of the season when Diego Moreira scored the lone goal in the 40th minute. 

This would be the first game that Marseille had not scored since De Zerbi became the manager over the summer. De Zerbi reacted calmly despite the defeat in his post-match comments, “We played a lot of man against man, one versus one, we lost 80% of these duels so we deserved to lose the match.” The Italian continued, “We lost too many duels, even aerial duels. It’s a deserved defeat.” 

“I don’t know if it was our worst match,” De Zerbi explained. “I have complete confidence in my players. Marcelo Bielsa, one of the former coaches (at Marseille), said that you learn from defeat. And I think we’re going to learn a lot from this one.” 

Marseille will look to respond to this defeat on Friday when they play host to bottom-of-the-table Angers SCO. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

RC Strasbourg Alsace were celebrating every clearance by the end of the game, but for most of their 1-0 victory over Olympique de Marseille, they had been the more commanding side. 

The Match

Roberto De Zerbi had warned that Marseille would have to be at their “best, mentally, physically, tactically” against Strasbourg. He even added that the game could be tougher than the one they had faced at Olympique Lyonnais the weekend before.

Strasbourg pressed relentlessly from the first whistle. The blue shirts swarmed high up the pitch looking to force costly turnovers. Gerónimo Rulli was the far more active of the two keepers and was forced into action to protect the Marseille goal from testing efforts from Sebastian Nanasi and Dilane Bakwa during the first half. 

Despite 59% possession in the first half, Marseille struggled to pass their way through the press and the physicality of their hosts. It took the visitors around 30 minutes before they recorded a shot. Luis Henrique in a similar run to the one against OGC Nice drifted inside and fired wide. 

Strasbourg had been the more dominant side and soon found the advantage on the score sheet when Nanasi slipped a pass to former Lyon loanee Diego Moreira in the 40th minute. The fullback on the overlap snuck his shot underneath Rulli to allow the hosts to end the first half with a slim lead. 

Le Racing continued their bright start in the second half. Moreira was able to split the defence with a pass into Emanuel Emegha but the striker’s decision-making was left wanting. The striker had options to his left but decided to fire straight towards Rulli. 

Ismaël Koné’s injury sparked De Zerbi to make a triple change. The young Canadian looked distraught as he was forced off the pitch. His replacement would be Adrien Rabiot, making his debut for the club after leaving Juventus at the start of this summer. 

Marseille found some rhythm. Greenwood forced a fantastic save from Djordje Petrović. The former Manchester United winger’s shot was struck with venom but the Chelsea loanee’s reflexes were more than enough to prevent the equaliser. 

Marseille pushed for the late equaliser, orange shirts flooding forward. But it wasn’t to be, as the club dropped points for the second time this season, and fell behind both Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco in the league. For Strasbourg, some good performances have gone unrewarded recently, and they were ecstatic that they were able to hold on to record their second victory of the season and the club’s 1000th at the Stade de la Meinau. 

Marseille player ratings

Gerónimo Rulli – 8

The star for Marseille. Strasbourg found it far too easy to attack the goalkeeper but the summer signing was able to prevent most of the shots from going through. He’ll be disappointed that Moreira’s shot went underneath him 

Lilian Brassier – 4

Derek Cornelius – 4

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 4

It was clear that Højbjerg was playing outside of his comfort zone. The midfielder due to injury to Bamo Meïté and suspension to Leonardo Balerdi was placed as a centre-back. An unfortunate slip in the first half should have been punished, and perhaps his presence was missed from slightly further up the field. 

Michael Amir Murillo – 4

Ismaël Koné – 5

Geoffrey Kondogbia – 6

Luis Henrique – 4

A disappointing evening for one of the brightest sparks of Marseille’s early season. The Brazilian found it difficult to be fully involved. There were glimpses of his newfound game, but Strasbourg were effective at killing Marseille’s attacking momentum. 

Amine Harit – 4

Mason Greenwood – 6

Elye Wahi – 5

Strasbourg selected player ratings

Djordje Petrović – 8

Diego Moreira – 8

Sebastian Nanasi – 7

GFFN | Nick Hartland