Marseille’s bright opening night against Strasbourg already feels distant. A 4-0 win has been followed by five straight defeats, an injury-hit squad and a financial squeeze that is forcing the club to search for answers on and off the pitch.
Key takeaways
- OM have lost five consecutive matches after their 4-0 victory over Strasbourg.
- Sporting director Grégory Lorenzi insists Bruno Genesio remains central to Marseille’s plans through 2028.
- Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Derek Cornelius, Amine Gouiri and Amine Harit were injured during the international break.
- Marseille are preparing for Sunday’s Ligue 1 trip to Troyes before facing Olympiacos in the Europa League on 15 October.
- The club is examining salary reductions, smaller travelling groups and further budget cuts to ease its financial pressure.
Genesio backed amid a damaging run
Marseille’s slide has included defeats at Monaco (2-0), against Paris FC (3-2), at Rennes (1-0), away to Besiktas (4-1) and at home to Paris Saint-Germain (2-1). The sequence has intensified scrutiny after a summer transfer window in which no new signing was registered.
With limited resources and several absentees, Genesio faces a difficult task in reshaping the side’s momentum. Lorenzi dismissed any suggestion that the 60-year-old coach could walk away in the coming weeks.
“Not at all,” Lorenzi said when asked whether Genesio might resign. “He committed himself to us until 2028. We are building with Bruno, and there is simply no issue there.”
The sporting director said the coaching staff did not believe the players were deliberately underperforming, but accepted that the group has weaknesses that cannot immediately be solved. The priority, he said, is to make the existing squad function as efficiently as possible.
Running figures and cost-cutting plans
Lorenzi pointed to two troubling indicators behind Marseille’s early-season problems. One internal figure suggests the team concede, on average, only 24 seconds after losing possession, a sign of how exposed they have been in transition.
He also said Marseille are Ligue 1’s lowest-running side. “We are not capable of doing more,” Lorenzi said, adding that the staff are considering ways to compensate tactically for that limitation.
The challenge extends beyond results. Marseille need to reduce expenditure quickly to avoid damaging their longer-term position in the top flight, and discussions over player wage cuts are among the options being considered.
Lorenzi said staffing levels have already been reduced compared with last season and made clear that the club would not retain unnecessary costs. Marseille also shortened their summer camp in the Netherlands from 15 days to five after an agreement with Genesio, while smaller delegations for away travel are another potential saving.
Before Olympiacos arrive in Marseille on 15 October, the immediate test comes at Troyes on Sunday night. Genesio must now halt a losing run with a thin squad, restricted room for manoeuvre and a club looking carefully at every euro.
