The defeat of the Olympique de Marseille against Stade Rennais (1-0) at the opening of Ligue 1 caused a strong tension in the Olympian locker room, as RMC Sport reports. Verbal disputes and an altercation between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe were reported, testifying to the players’ intense frustration with this counterperformance, especially since an hour of numerical superiority did not allow to score. Team managers, including Geroinimo Rulli, Léo Balerdi, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, expressed disappointment at a lack of involvement and a performance judged to be below expectations. Roberto De Zerbi himself reacted with anger, recalling the importance of the values of humility and self-giving to OM, before letting his players settle their accounts under the supervision of football director Medhi Benatia. Jonathan Rowe was particularly criticized for his lack of defensive effort, exacerbating the tension with Rabiot, before their teammates intervened to separate them.

Daniel Riolo, on After Foot on RMC, pointed out that this type of reaction is unfortunately common in Marseille, where expectations are still disproportionate. He recalled that even prep games were treated as formal meetings, illustrating the club’s emphasis on performance. For Riolo, disappointment is proportional to the demand of the club, which, with a strengthened staff and participation in the Champions League, cannot afford such a false start. He believes that the OM should normally turn two or three defeats in any season, and that this first defeat is an alarm signal. This underscores the pressure already exerted on Roberto De Zerbi and his players, and underlines the need for a quick correction to stay in line with the ambitions displayed.

Mamadou Niang, former OM captain, also expressed his disappointment on the YouTube channel of Football Club Marseille. He pointed out the defensive flaws already observed last season, citing examples of matches where OM had been trapped. In particular, Niang criticized Leonardo Balerdi’s individual error in the goal, highlighting a recurring problem of off-the-game positioning, particularly in digital inferiority. He warns against the consequences of failure to correct these defensive problems, which could lead to a new season of disappointments, and already puts pressure on Roberto De Zerbi and his staff to find quick solutions.