Olympique de Marseille show signs of complacency against lowly-ranked Troyes
Olympique de Marseille struggled to find their form for the second week in a row as they could only hold Troyes to a 1-1 draw in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
It was another disappointing display from Jorge Sampaoli's men following their disastrous performance last weekend against the newly-promoted Clermont Foot. They lost that game 2-0.
Heading into February, the Olympians seemed well on their way to a second runners-up finish in three years. However, not only have they lost form since then, but the teams around them have also started closing down the gap.
Lackluster defense
Duje Caleta-Car and Alvaro Gonzalez have looked out of shape in recent outings, and both the center-backs were at fault against Troyes. Gonzalez's inconsistencies have even forced Sampaoli to look at William Saliba as a partner for the Serb.
Meanwhile, Valentin Rongier has been deployed as a holding midfielder following Kevin Strootman's departure to Cagliari.
Sampaoli's growing distrust of Boubacar Kamara amid rumors of a move away has also jeopardized Marseille's defense.
The Olympians currently don't have a proper defensive midfielder apart from Kamara. This has contributed to the club dropping as many as eight points in their last five league games.
FT: 0-2. Losing to Clermont at home is just not acceptable for OM, especially one hoping to finish 2nd. We have a repeated problem in that we can’t breakdown teams that are well drilled defensively. Players looked lacking in effort and urgency too tonight #OMCF63
Inconsistencies
As a club, Marseille are often accused of being temperamental. Nothing can best illustrate this more than the series of results that led to Andre Villas-Boas' departure last summer.
In mid-December last year, the club were contending for the league title, with PSG having played two fewer games. By February, however, they had lost seven out of eight games, and Villas-Boas had handed over his resignation.
Sampaoli rallied the team to the upper echelons of French football once again this season, in a similar fashion to Villas-Boas' first season in charge. However, recent results laid bare their inconsistencies and team issues.
OFFICIAL: Marseille suspend coach Andre Villas-Boas. Disciplinary measures normally result in a sacking. #OM twitter.com/OM_Officiel/st…
The defeat to Clermont Foot was a major setback. Up against the newly-promoted team at Stade Velodrome, the Olympians underestimated their opponents to go down as early as the 12th minute of the game. They barely showed any intent of balancing the odds before their opponents sealed the tie in the dying minutes of the game.
A week later, they conceded a 90th-minute equalizer against Troyes, allowing their opponents to get out of the relegation zone.
Pressure for Marseille
Olympique de Marseille currently occupy second place in the Ligue 1 table, behind Paris Saint-Germain. They have 47 points from 26 games and are 15 points behind the table-toppers.
Many clubs are competing for the second spot in the league table, which guarantees automatic Champions League qualification. Nice has witnessed a stunning rise under Christophe Galtier, while Strasbourg has emerged as the dark horse.
Marseille must find a way to tackle their growing signs of complacency in order to establish their hold on second place.