Marseille left Troyes with three points on Sunday night, but not with much comfort. A 2-0 win in the Aube ended a run of four straight Ligue 1 defeats and gave Bruno Genesio’s side room to breathe near the bottom of the table. The performance, however, drew sharp criticism after the final whistle.
The move
Eric Di Meco singled out central defender Egan-Riley for what he saw as an overly cautious display in possession. His complaint was not about a single mistake, but about Marseille’s inability to turn safe possession into forward momentum.
Di Meco argued that Egan-Riley repeatedly played sideways even when there was space in front of him to carry the ball forward, draw opponents out and create openings for teammates.
“When you are a centre-back and all you do for 90 minutes is pass sideways, even though there are 20 metres in front of you, you have to move forward sometimes,” Di Meco said. “Those passes can create room, but then you must attack that space. He never does it.”
The former Marseille player added that other defenders, including Aguerd, were prepared to step out with the ball, while Egan-Riley remained static. “I could play those sideways passes at 63,” he said. “You cannot be a Ligue 1 player without moving forward and helping to create overloads.”
- Egan-Riley
- Aguerd
- Igor Paixao
The French season around it
The result at Troyes halted Marseille’s losing sequence, but it did little to settle fears over the level of their football. Genesio’s team won without convincing and remain under pressure despite gaining valuable ground in the fight to move away from danger.
Di Meco broadened his criticism to the squad, claiming several Marseille players would not have reached the top flight without the changes brought by the Bosman ruling in 1995, which ended restrictions on foreign players at European clubs.
He suggested that, had leading French players remained in the domestic game as they did more often in the 1990s, some of Marseille’s current players would be operating in Ligue 2 or even the National divisions.
Igor Paixao was also targeted after his substitution against Troyes. Di Meco criticised the attacker’s reaction to leaving the pitch, arguing that Paixao should have put the team first after an ineffective outing.
“Our supposed stars have been disastrous,” Di Meco said. “Paixao sulks when he comes off despite having played badly. At some point, the collective has to matter. Thankfully, there are young players.”
