Liverpool earned a 3-0 victory over Marseille in the Champions League.
Roberto De Zerbi told of his disappointment after Marseille were put to the sword by Liverpool.
The Reds delivered an impressive 3-0 triumph over the French outfit at the Stade Velodrome. Arne Slot’s visitors took the lead in first half stoppage-time when Dominik Szoboszlai’s clever free-kick went under the wall and into the back of the net.
Liverpool doubled their advantage midway through the second half, with Jeremie Frimpong’s cross from the byline inadvertently being steered into his own net by goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli. Then in stoppage-time, substitute Cody Gakpo rounded off the triumph with a composed finish.
The Reds moved up to fourth in the Champions League table, giving them a major boost in their bid to automatically qualify for the last 16. Marseille, meanwhile, are 19th and will have to beat Club Brugge in their final game to secure a knockout phase play-off spot.
Marseille and former Brighton head coach Zerbi said: “We played poorly, we conceded a silly goal, the first one. The first half was played at a more or less equal level, but we didn't understand where the game was happening. Liverpool have never defended this way before and the pressure was on Pavard. If Pavard would have understood that earlier, once we found him we were able to move the ball forward. We lost many possessions because we couldn't understand the physicology of the match. The second half was a little bit more open once we gave players some space. We had opportunities like them.”
Marseille are third in Ligue 1 and went into the Liverpool clash after a 5-2 victory over Angers - a performance De Zerbi was highly impressed with. But De Zerbi was left baffled how his side’s levels dropped markedly.
He added per L’Equipe: “We could have done better. But we didn't. And that's the hardest thing: playing ten matches like we did against Angers. Unfortunately, we don't do it. You sit on the bench and you don't know if it will be like the Nantes or Angers matches. And that's the hard thing to accept. The attitude was there, but willpower isn't enough when you play against Liverpool. You have to understand football. I think some opponents didn't miss a single pass. We knew they would be better, but we could have done better. We still have Bruges, who are strong and experienced. If we had been told at the start of the season that we could be in contention for qualification with nine points, we would have been happy.
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