‘We want to compete with PSG better’ – Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi on second season hopes | OneFootball

The mood has been upbeat over the Summer in the swelling heat of Marseille, with the club freshly-qualified for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League and a string of promising reinforcements in the the form of Angel Gomes, Facundo Medina, CJ-Egan Riley, with a potential return for a proven Ligue 1 goalscorer in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the horizon. Yet the reality of Olympique de Marseille’s current spot in French football remains. OM haven’t won a title in 13 years, and Paris Saint-Germain’s grip on European football and Ligue 1 is tighter than ever. Yet, in an interview with L’Équipe, Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi says he wants his side to “compete better” with Luis Enrique’s side in his second season at the helm.With Brighton, De Zerbi’s second season saw him return to the UEFA Europa League to a lot of initial promise and excitement – but ended in frustration and disappointment for the Italian. At Marseille, the parallel is similar, the stakes are higher, and there is one big elephant in the room: PSG. “We want to compete with Paris better than we did last season. I’m not saying that PSG is a bigger club than OM. I’m saying they’ve been stronger than us up until now,” said De Zerbi during his side’s pre-season preparations in Holland. “We have a real team too, but with ups and downs,” added De Zerbi. “We need to get rid of those ups and downs, which are typical of Marseille. And perhaps typical of me too, because I’m guilty of excesses myself.”In the last 23 Classique matches between OM and PSG, the capital side have win 19 among three draws and only one win for Les Phocéens. “For me, that’s not a Classico. But if you want to keep talking about the Classico, go ahead,” said De Zerbi dismissively on the rivalry. But the Italian was more than complementary of Luis Enrique’s achievements with the Parisian club. “When we play PSG, we want to win, we want to compete, but the truth is there. Paris were almost unbeatable last season. And this Paris team, which didn’t have Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi or Neymar, was more of a team than the one before. In that respect, Luis Enrique has been extraordinary.”GFFN | George Boxall