Liverpool beat Marseille comfortably in the Champions League, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo scoring in the south of France to hand Arne Slot a big boost
08:42, 22 Jan 2026
Timothy Weah of Marseille speaks after his side lost to Liverpool.
Timothy Weah of Marseille speaks after his side lost to Liverpool.(Image: Stuart Franklin - UEFA via Getty Images)
Marseille and USMNT winger Timothy Weah says his team needs to learn from the defeat against Liverpool in the Champions League that saw Arne Slot's men establish themselves in the top eight spots.
Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, either side of an own-goal from Geronimo Rulli that was forced in after good work from Jeremie Frimpong, saw Liverpool win comfortably in the south of France.
But Weah says playing against "really good" teams like Liverpool will only help Roberto De Zerbi's men reach the next level. They play Club Brugge next week needing a result to ensure qualification to the knockout phase, but can no longer avoid the play-offs.
READ MORE: Federico Chiesa injury update after Liverpool forward missed Marseille gameREAD MORE: Mohamed Salah sends Liverpool message as Arne Slot plan pays off - 5 talking points vs Marseille
"I feel like we still had some more to give," Weah told beIN Sports post-match.
"The way the game went, we lost a bit of momentum after they scored the second goal, but that's the game and we have to bounce back from it and make sure we're ready for Brugge.
"We definitely wanted a goal and that would have shifted things for us. But at the end of the day, we saw a really good Liverpool squad tonight and we just have to be better next time.
MARSEILLE, FRANCE - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Jeremie Frimpong of Liverpool, Milos Kerkez of Liverpool celebrating 0-2 during the UEFA Champions League match between Olympique Marseille v Liverpool at the Stade Vélodrome on January 21, 2026 in Marseille France (Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates /Getty Images)
Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez celebrate after the former's run and cross led to Liverpool doubling their lead at Marseille (Image: Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates /Getty Images)
"We're a fairly new team. We just have to keep building on that experience with each other and hopefully next game, we can give 100 per cent and be completely focused on our goal.
"I think we're all learning from our wins and our defeats. I think now we have to get back in training and work on a few things and sharpen them before Brugge, because it's going to be a battle."
While Marseille was unable to get anything from the game, it was a big three points for Liverpool and a strong performance just days after the Reds were booed at the end of last weekend's draw with Burnley.
"You know it is always very difficult to play against Marseille because of the passionate fans they have and the quality of the players," Arne Slot said in his post-match press conference.
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"What makes it even harder is they have such a good manager, who always lets his team play so well. We were prepared for that.
"I think in the first half you could see we took the ball three or four times off them in very promising situations, but we couldn't find the player that was completely free. We were in four-versus-three situations a few times and the one time we did find the player, it was fractionally offside.
"On the ball, I think we were controlled — although I maybe better not use that word because it has been [misinterpreted] a few times lately — but we could find players in between the lines, we could bring our attackers into promising positions."
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Liverpool.com says: The Reds were very good against Marseille but the true test will be how Liverpool gets on against a low block. Roberto De Zerbi played into Slot's hands, but not every opponent will be so accommodating.