Until this weekend, Marseille had looked most likely to upset the Paris Saint-Germain apple cart and were mounting a strong title challenge in the French top flight. Monaco sprung a shock win over the Parisians on Saturday and have opened the title race up for others to take advantage of Luis Enrique‘s team’s slip-ups.
Marseille will be frustrated to have thrown away two points late on against Toulouse at home on Saturday. Igor Paixao and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had put the visitors ahead in response to Emersonn’s opener for the visitors. However, Santiago Hidalgo shocked the French giants with a 92nd-minute equaliser to steal a point.
Despite the minor setback, Marseille remain in contention to lift the Ligue 1 title for the first time since 2010. The club have won the division ten times, but with just one trophy in almost 34 years, De Zerbi and his squad will be determined to restore Marseille to the top of French football.
The Italian’s team are just two points off the summit and are hot on the tails of Lens, in first place, and PSG. Greenwood is currently top scorer in the division with ten goals and believes that his team can win the crown.
Speaking to Téléfoot Greenwood said: “I’m in a really good place thanks to the coach and my teammates.
“I feel good and I hope to improve, to win more awards this season. Roberto De Zerbi? He’s the brains of the team, the architect of our game. He helps me understand football much better, he helps me improve every day.”
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Greenwood added that Marseille’s summer recruitment drive has put them in a much better position to fight for silverware. “We’ve signed quite a few players, very, very strong players,” he said. “We’ve improved in certain areas. I feel like we’re a bit more of a team this season; we’re all on the same wavelength, you can see it. We’re [third] and I hope we can keep fighting to be number one.”
The club have added a whole host of key players, with varying levels of experience. In forward areas, Paixao and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have already earned their side points on their own, with the latter starring for the French side in the Champions League with a brace against Newcastle. The former Arsenal star has shown glimmers of the levels he once possessed back in France after a spell in the Middle East.
In midfield, Arthur Vermeer, Matt O’Riley and Angel Gomes have bolstered De Zerbi’s creative options in the middle of the park. Meanwhile, Benjamin Pavard, Nayef Aguerd and Facundo Medina have all strengthened the Marseille backline with heaps of experience.
PSG are still heavy favourites for the Ligue 1 title and cannot be written off as the likely champions of France. The Parisians have had a mixed start to their domestic season, but possess quality that few others in the division can match and have the squad depth to match.
Marseille have been performing well under De Zerbi and also have a strong squad, but will need to remain at their absolute best if they are to kick on and truly maintain a title challenge. The next test of such a challenge comes on Friday when they have to travel north to take on Lille, behind them by just three points, in a chance to really demonstrate whether they have the acumen to mount a serious run to become champions.
