Liverpool beat Marseille 3-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with manager Roberto De Zerbi admitting his side made silly mistakes and pointing to Benjamin Pavard's role
09:14, 22 Jan 2026
Roberto De Zerbi, the head coach of Olympique Marseille, during his post-match press conference.
Roberto De Zerbi, the head coach of Olympique Marseille, during his post-match press conference.(Image: Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
Roberto De Zerbi bemoaned the "silly" lapses he believes undermined his Marseille side as it suffered a comprehensive home Champions League defeat to Liverpool.
The Reds secured a well-earned 3-0 victory at the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday, putting themselves in pole position to qualify directly for the last 16 ahead of their final opening stage fixture at home to Qarabag next week.
In contrast, Marseille must now claim victory at Club Brugge to guarantee a passage to the play-offs. It has dropped to 19th in the standings, just a single point above those beyond the 24th-place threshold.
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
Dominik Szoboszlai broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a cheeky free-kick underneath the Marseille wall, before Jeremie Frimpong forced an own goal from home goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, and substitute Cody Gakpo wrapped up the scoring with the final touch of the match.
When questioned about his primary disappointment from the evening, Marseille manager De Zerbi responded: "I don't like the word 'regret'. We played badly, we didn't play well.
"We conceded a silly goal from a free-kick. It's true, we were playing against Liverpool... but knowing that, we should have done much more, especially in the first half. We didn't know how to deal with Liverpool.
MARSEILLE, FRANCE - JANUARY 21: Dominik Szoboszlai #8 of Liverpool FC celebrates his first goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD7 match between Olympique de Marseille and Liverpool FC at Stade de Vélodrome on January 21, 2026 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates after his clever free-kick put Liverpool in front at Marseille(Image: Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
"We had opportunities to do better. We didn't take them. The attitude, the will, was there, but it's not enough against Liverpool.
"We also need to understand football, how to play the ball out from the back, make fewer misplaced passes, and show more personality. We already knew our opponent was stronger, but we could still do better."
De Zerbi feels that Marseille could have performed better had they utilized France World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard more effectively, and he criticized the player for not making a bigger impact.
"We didn't understand that the game revolved around Pavard," the Marseille manager stated. "He himself didn't realize he was the solution. We lost silly possession because we didn't understand the flow of the game; we kept playing through the middle.
Get LFC's 2025/26 season home and away kits
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Content Image
From $100
LFC.com
See the deal
Liverpool's home and away strips for the 2025/26 season are the first in their new partnership with adidas.
Fans can order jerseys in the US at Fanatics.com or via the LFC Online Store in both the US and across the world.
"Pavard could have scored in the first half; he found himself one-on-one with the keeper. We could have pushed forward more down the wings with Pavard and Murillo.
"Pavard can and should attack. And that's the problem: staying like that in the first half. Kondogbia needed to spread out to the right and Pavard needed to push forward more to put Liverpool under pressure.
"Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were constantly marking Kondogbia and Hojbjerg. We should have spread the ball wide to get it out of our own half. But we couldn't stop playing, so we kept playing through the middle.
Article continues below
"It annoyed me that we didn't read the game properly. After the break, the game opened up, and when you give Liverpool space, you're bound to suffer."
Liverpool.com says: Marseille played right into the Reds' hands by being so open and attacking. Liverpool wants space to run into behind and De Zerbi's approach provided it time and time again.