Roberto De Zarbi is such a name in the world of football who may not end his career with so much in the cabinet, but he will surely leave a philosophy behind. On Monday night, his side Olympique de Marseille edged past Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at Stade Velodrome.

A shaky start to the season put them on the back foot. Losing two league games respectively against Lyon and Rennes, and the Champions League opener to Real Madrid, made the situation vulnerable. However, de Zarbi did not compromise, sticking to his style of play and focusing more on solving the problem.

De Zarbi Focused on Disciplined

The Italian manager fosters a culture of ‘Controlled Chaos’, emphasising quick penetration and taking high risks during the build-up to manage spaces on the field. This creates high-octane situations where players must control their nerves to avoid fouls or cards. Due to card issues, the team can suffer through numerical setbacks.

Against Real Madrid and Rennes, the disciplinary concerns have threatened them. Conceding two penalties against Real Madrid and a Red card against Rennes were pinning them back. Receiving 9 yellow cards, including 3 versus PSG has exposed the matter.

Even though there are chances to slot the ball into their own nets, however they did not make any such error.

Closing the Width While Maintaining Shape

Luis Enrique’s PSG is known for overloading on the wide to find centre spaces. That exposed the channels and centre of the field for vertical and diagonal passes from deep midfielders.

Challenging PSG’s defence to attack transition phase, Marseille was converting their 3-4-2 into 5-4-1, cutting the forwards from vertically. Emerson and Weah marked the wide channel zonally. However, maintaining a compact shape, there was a bare minimum gap in between lines, which delayed PSG from reaching Marseille’s box.

Reducing available passing options, the Olympians were retaining possession mostly from the wide areas. Trying to split the rest of the defence, progress through diagonal passes. Though denied by PSG’s fast transition to defence.

Though the only goal of the match came in the fourth minute. It was not the result of quick penetration or from a progressive threat through a diagonal pass. Marseille won the possession but was delayed by PSG, getting enough time to form a low block. Mason Greenwood’s cross in the box creates chaos, but an error by Marquinhos led to a goal in favour of the Whites.

Gerónimo Rulli Providing Plus One on the Backline

Marseille Goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli aligned himself with the backline, forming a back three during build-up. Against the tight pressing of Paris Saint-Germain, he was offering a numerical edge. 19 of 23 long balls were accurate, find the right zone and right space. There was no more passing option available on the back for him, so a high chance of error occurred.

He made five crucial saves following PSG’s failure to find the net at Stade Velodrome for the first time since November 2011. Taking high risk during the build-up, Rulli played a key role in De Zerbi’s Control Chaos model.

Injury Crisis Frayed PSG’s Condition

Absence of Ousmane Dembele, Désiré Doué, and João Neves strikes PSG’s squad depth at this moment. Unavailability of Paris core, Marseille took a qualitative edge too. The squad rotation is hampered at this moment.

Going through a hamstring injury, Dembele and Neves and a calf strain Désiré Doué, all are out till mid-October