Ligue 1 Review | Olympique de Marseille on a road to nowhere

Sporting director Medhi Benatia also handed in his resignation before being convinced by owner Frank McCourt to remain until the end of the season. The triumvirate that returned Marseille to the UEFA Champions League and had them dreaming of former glory has yet to be fully replaced. Habib Beye arrived in the technical area in late February and already faces questions about his suitability for the role, while Stéphane Richard succeeded Longoria as president earlier this month.

Benatia’s status as a self-imposed dead man walking has done little to help alleviate this sense of transition and uncertainty that permeates the club. When the key architects behind a project are all gone or going, is there any surprise that the general rudderlessness is then reflected onto the pitch? Les Phocéens have lost three of their last four games, the latest of which, a 2-0 defeat away to FC Lorient on Saturday afternoon, saw the club slide from fourth to sixth in the standings and left Benatia glowering at the microphone, lamenting a squad that he had helped put together.

Reaction to a ‘scandalous’ defeat “ It’s a scandal ,” Benatia said in the mixed zone . “ We were playing against a team that is almost already on holiday, even if they have quality, and we are playing the first of our five finals. We organise training camps to build connections and to work, and yet nobody reacts in the dressing room.

Everything is calm, as if nothing happened. ” Having spent last week in Marbella doing a training camp, the squad will now spend most of this week at their training ground, La Commanderie. Following the defeat to Lorient, they had their day off on Sunday cancelled and will have double training sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, while from Thursday to Sunday they will sleep overnight at La Commanderie in a lock-in ahead of the showdown with southern rivals OGC Nice.