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Marseille manager Roberto de Zerbi pulled no punches in his criticism of former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood, who was hauled off at half-time as his side crumbled to a 0-3 derby drubbing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
De Zerbi has been a vocal supporter of Greenwood, who joined Marseille on a permanent transfer in the summer, but justified his removal by explaining to French media, via Goal.com, “I didn’t like the way he played.”
The former Brighton and Hove Albion manager added: “If we want to compete for the title we have to push in all matches. He’s a good guy but I expected a lot more from him this evening.”
Greenwood made an explosive start to life in France, bagging five goals and assisting one in his first three Ligue 1 appearances, but his form has tailed off since the end of August.
In the six games which followed, he has only scored once more, and was totally ineffectual as Marseille were trampled all over by league leaders and bitter rivals PSG.
It was a difficult day for Marseille, who were reduced to ten men after just 20 minutes, but De Zerbi found fault with his players even before Amine Harit’s red card.
“At 11v11, we weren’t up to par,” he said. “We didn’t play with courage like my team should play. We had to play with courage, that’s why it was more difficult.”
The Italian manager’s comments seem particularly stinging for Greenwood, who was one of two players withdrawn at half time as the hosts sought for stability.
“We need to have more personality and play better. We weren’t able to be competitive. We had prepared well to play with courage. If we don’t play with courage, we can’t wear this jersey.”
The implication is that the players who stayed on the pitch showed more grit and determination than the 23-year-old Englishman.
And this isn’t the first time De Zerbi has publicly criticised Greenwood, calling him “not in good shape” earlier this month.
The young winger responded well to this, scoring and assisting in a 5-0 win at Montpellier, and De Zerbi will doubtless be hoping for a similar reaction now.
Feature image Miguel Medina via Getty Images