Marseille boss Abardonado: ‘I take my hat off’ to the player

With head coach Marcelino stepping down as the club’s directors stepped back from their duties amid ructions with the club’s very vocal fan-base earlier in the week, it was a tough job for former assistant coach Jacques Abardonado as Olympique de Marseille made the trip to Amsterdam to take on Ajax in their Europa League opener.

Character

But a job well done – OM showed an attractive brand of attacking football and right-back Jonathan Clauss’s spectacular dribble and strike paved the way for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s brace in a display full of character.

That Marseille let in as many goals as they scored was of course less than ideal but Abardonado was impressed with how his charges responded under the circumstances.

Abardonado: ‘A quality squad’

“We knew we have a quality squad and the players really cut loose tonight,” he told Canal + after the match. “There are still a few things to sort out, that’s normal, but I take my hat off to them.”

Now there is just the small matter of the Classique – away to arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 Uber Eats Round 6 action on Sunday night – to round out this exceptional week for the southern giants…

Goals on the menu!

And given the attacking choices Abardonado made – not to mention the defensive frailties as the side switched from Marcelino’s safety-first 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 – fans could well be in for a high-scoring encounter as OM look to strike a blow in their eternal rivalry with the capital club.

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