Roberto De Zerbi asks Marseille stars to ask if they 'deserve' to be in the team as bid to challenge PSG to Ligue 1 title suffers another blow with last-minute collapse

Marseille’s 2-2 draw against Angers on Wednesday extended their winless run to three matches in all competitions. Their first setback came against Sporting CP in controversial fashion, when a contentious VAR decision led to defender Emerson Palmieri being shown a red card. The incident sparked protests from both De Zerbi and striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who openly criticised the referee’s handling of the match.

Marseille’s fortunes did not improve over the weekend as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Lens in Ligue 1, despite a goal from Mason Greenwood. The the midweek clash at Stade Velodrome further compounded their frustration as they fell behind to Angers after 25 minutes before appearing to take control of the match thanks to a second-half double from Robinio Vaz, only for an equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time to ensure the teams shared the points, preventing De Zerbi's men from capitalising on PSG's draw with Lorient.

After the midweek upset, De Zerbi urged his players to show a champion’s mentality and prove they have the quality to belong at a club aiming to challenge for the French league title, saying: “We’re trying to push Marseille to the next level. So now we need to understand if we deserve to be part of this OM team, whether it’s me or the players. We need to know if we want to compete with PSG, or if we have ups and downs and don’t deserve to be part of this club.”

The Italian coach also praised the club’s ownership and sporting management for their efforts to improve the team’s standards. “Since I’ve been here, I have nothing to criticise the club for. They’ve always tried to raise the level, whether it’s [owner] Frank McCourt, [president] Pablo Longoria, or [sporting director] Medhi Benatia, who are all working with great courage to bring positive changes in many areas,” De Zerbi said.

Marseille started strongly against Angers, but eventually fell behind late in the first half after the home team's defender Nayef Aguerd misjudged the bounce of a long ball. Sidiki Cherif held him off and calmly slotted the ball past Geronimo Rulli to make it 1-0, prompting boos from the home fans as Marseille went into the break with a one-goal deficit.

Italian coach De Zerbi reacted with a triple substitution at half-time, one of which saw 18-year-old forward Robinio Vaz come on alongside summer signings Matt O'Riley and Benjamin Pavard. The change paid off immediately, as Vaz finished off a counterattack from a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pass to level the score at 1-1. Marseille continued to press for the winner, with Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg testing Herve Koffi from set pieces. Their persistence paid off in the 70th minute when Vaz received the ball on the edge of the box, turned past Jordan Lefort and Jacques Ekomie, and fired a powerful shot into the net to make it 2-1.

Just when Marseille appeared set to claim all three points, a late lapse proved costly. Angers’ Amine Sabai pounced on a loose ball and found Camara, who slotted past Rulli to make it 2-2 in the dying seconds of a thrilling Ligue 1 encounter.

Marseille players will look to respond to De Zerbi’s challenge and turn their fortunes around when they travel to Auxerre on Saturday. They will also be hoping Nice can extend their winning run to four games when they meet PSG on the same day, while second-placed Monaco host newly-promoted Paris FC.