'Total despair' - Roberto De Zerbi questions mindset of Mason Greenwood & Co after Marseille are pulverised by PSG in Le Classique

Marseille headed into the clash with their old adversaries hoping to cement their standing in the race for Champions League qualification. Come the final whistle in Paris, De Zerbi’s side found themselves on the wrong end of a record-setting scoreline.

An underwhelming performance saw the visitors completely overwhelmed in the French capital, with defensive mistakes plaguing an error-strewn performance that saw PSG secure the most comprehensive win in the history of Le Classique fixtures.

De Zerbi was at a loss to explain the performance of his team afterwards, with the Italian tactician feeling sorry for a loyal group of supporters. He told reporters: “It's a rough patch... we put in a good performance against Rennes and Lens, and then it's total despair. Once again, I apologise to the fans.”

The Italian tactician has faced questions of his future over recent weeks, with more of those on the way. He admits that talks will be held with club president Pablo Longoria and the Marseille board about what happens next. He added: “We'll talk with [sporting director Medhi] Benatia and Longoria to understand what we can do. Because these defeats hurt, especially in Paris, especially in this way.”

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Marseille suffered a 3-0 defeat to Club Brugge on January 28 which cost them qualification for the Champions League knockout phase play-offs, with another heavy loss to PSG leaving them outside of the top three in Ligue 1.

De Zerbi added on key men, such as 22-goal top scorer Mason Greenwood, allowing standards to dip in crucial contests: “I'm not inside the players' heads, I don't know what's going on.

“We prepared for the match as much as possible. But clearly, we didn't prepare well. We need to understand why. Why do we go to Brugge and play like that? Why do we come here and play like that? And why do we play completely different matches against Lens and Rennes?”

He went on to say when asked about his team selection, with Jeffrey de Lange and Benjamin Pavard among those to be handed starting berths: “I think there's not much to salvage from this match. When so many players have an inadequate game, there are no regrets. We don't need to talk when we lose like that. We have to look inward and think we could have done better.”

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele bagged a brace for PSG, firing them two goals in front before half-time, with the France international delighted to have put down a marker in a game that has seen the defending champions move back to the top of the table.

Dembele said: “It's a special match for all Parisians. We were determined to play a great game and send a message to everyone: we're back, and in this second half of the season, we're going to do everything to win everything.”

Luis Enrique talked up the importance of Dembele to his cause, with PSG’s manager saying: “He's a different kind of player. That's why he won the Ballon d'Or. The way he plays is something else. It's a real pleasure to have a player of this caliber. I'm very happy for him, for the team. We have to keep going.

“We expected a difficult match. Today, I think it was like that during the first half, but we overcame the opponent, we played very well. I think we clearly deserved this victory.”

Marseille, who remain in the hunt for French Cup honours this season, will be looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat when they return to Ligue 1 action on Saturday in a home date with Strasbourg.