Our final look into the top 5 European league's underachievers takes us to the division which is shaping up the most having already seen 10 rounds of fixtures played. While the likes of Lille, Lyon and big spenders PSG take their familiar place at the top of the Ligue 1 table, one side in particular has had a woeful start, which could easily cost them their status in the European competitions next year.
Marseille are preparing to face an Arsenal side that have had struggles of their own in recent months and were featured as the Premier League's under-performing side in the first article of this series - Europe's Underachievers: Premier League - Arsenal. Last season's Ligue 1 runners-up frankly make Arsenal's start look very positive having only won once in their opening 10 matches.
A tendency to draw games - 6 in total - has been Didier Deschamps’ side’s downfall thus far, and with just over a quarter of the season gone it has cost them, already 14 points off league leaders PSG and 9 off a Europa League spot, yet alone the Champions League.
The sides solitary win of the campaign came against newly promoted Evian, and despite facing a tough opening schedule so far, playing 4 of the current top 6, it is fair to say that Deschamps is under significant pressure, despite a 4-game unbeaten run in the league.
Tough Start Not an Excuse
A look at Marseille's first 6 fixtures shows that they have faced some of the league's toughest ties, with last season's runners-up facing the surprise package from the previous campaign, Sochaux, in the opener. A 2-2 draw at home is down from the 3 points they picked up in a 2-1 win last term. An identical scoreline followed in a tricky first away game at Auxerre and the result matched the 1-1 draw from last season, meaning there was no cause for panic just yet.
However, another winnable home tie hosting St. Etienne ended in a share of the spoils having won the fixture last season, again 2-1, before 3 successive defeats. First up was an always difficult trip to champions Lille, losing the game 3-2 despite having their fair share of chances and significantly more so than in the 3-1 win at the eventual title winners’ home last term.
Another disappointing home result ended in a narrow defeat to Rennes having played out a stalemate last term, before a 2-0 loss at Lyon left Deschamps' side with just 3 points from 6 games. Despite being tough matches, Marseille amassed 11 points from the same fixtures last term, only losing to Lyon of the six encounters, and winning three.
Unbeaten but Unspectacular
Although a miserable start had proceeded an upcoming 4 game unbeaten league run, the results against significantly weaker sides than those previously faced have remained below par. Marseille's first win in the league took 7 games in coming, and was courtesy of a 2-0 home victory against newly promoted Evian, so no more than would have been demanded from the fans and board alike.
However, a run that has seen them return to their frustrating drawing ways has seen Marseille fail to beat Valenciennes, Brest and most recently, Toulouse. Though they lost against the former last term, Marseille picked up a comfortable 3-0 win at home to Brest and a decent 3 points away from home at Toulouse, meaning their points tally from the last 3 matches is still 3 points less than the same fixtures last term. It is therefore clear to see why Deschamps’ position as manager is thought to be hanging in the balance.
Unlucky vs Lille
A look at the match stats from the defeat at Lille back in August shows that Marseille were more than a little unlucky to come away with nothing, losing 3-2. While the hosts fired off just 6 shots, with 5 on target, Marseille mustered a mammoth 18. Lille's 3-goal haul proves just how clinical they were on the day, with the visitors quite the opposite. Of Marseille's excellent shots tally just 4 were on target, and with 2 scored, the wayward nature of their finishing was a constant issue.
Marseille also boasted slightly more possession (51%), though a meagre 76% pass accuracy and 11 tackles were bettered in a resolute performance last season. Again visitors, Marseille managed half the number of shots as this year's exploits (9), but with 7 on target, were deadly in front of goal in the 3-1 victory. With an even share of the possession, Marseille completed 79% of their passes and made 15 tackles to fight back having gone 1 down early on, showing the spirit that has been seemingly vacant this time around.
Experienced Duo Need to Step Up
Two of the stars of last season's success, despite narrowly missing out in the title race, were central midfield pairing Benoit Cheyrou and Lucho Gonzalez. The experienced middle-men, both now 30, were rated by WhoScored as the side's first and third best players respectively, with impressive figures of 7.16 and 7.05.
This time around poor finishing and a lack of creativity has seen them contributed very little in terms of goals scored or created having picked up 11 goals and 12 assists between them last term. Already 10 games into this season and Gonzalez's sole strike is the only goal to boast between them, while neither has laid on an assist in 17 appearances combined.
A terrible return in terms of goal contribution has come despite attempting more shots per game on average between them this season (2 to 1.6) and is indicative of the wayward nature of their efforts thus far. While the duo's combined shots per game average has risen, a dip in creativity and graft has been noticeable, with an average of 1.25 key passes per game between them compared to 1.95 last term, as well as 1.55 tackles per game in comparison to a handy 2.2.
The midfield pairing's demise has led to respective ratings of just 6.55 each compared to an average of 7.11 last season, and it is fair to say that if Marseille are going to turn their season around, Deschamps will need his top performers to do exactly that!
