Any followers of the Premier League who remember Roberto De Zerbi from his early days at Brighton know the Italian can make an immediate impact when he joins a new club.
And this is exactly what is happening at Marseille, where De Zerbi has led the team to third in Ligue 1 with 17 points from eight matches.
De Zerbi has got Marseille playing attacking football and scoring plenty of goals. Five wins from his eight games in charge has been largely down to the 21 goals scored by the Phocéens.
The change has been extraordinary. In 34 matches in the 2023/24 season, Marseille found the net 52 times on their way to a disappointing 8th place finish. Already this season, the Phocéens are nearly halfway to that goal haul after just eight matches.
As well as being known for attacking football, De Zerbi teams are also well known for conceding goals. His Marseille team has conceded eight times in eight matches. Not a phenomenal amount, but a goal a game.
But that’s the trade off with the Italian. And it’s fair to assume that most Marseille fans will settle for conceding a few in return for scoring bucket loads at the other end.
Luis Enrique also only knows one way to play football. The Spaniard may not have Kylian Mbappe anymore, but in Bradley Barcola, Enrique has the top scorer in Ligue 1 with seven goals in eight matches.
