MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Marseille is looking to reignite its season with a new coach on board.
The nine-time French champion appointed Habib Beye to replace Roberto De Zerbi following a bad patch of form that saw the club exit the Champions League and drop 12 points behind Ligue 1 leader Lens.
Beye, a former Senegal international who played for Marseille, will be in charge of Friday’s trip to Brest.
After leading Red Star to promotion to Ligue 2, Beye spent the last year and a half as the Rennes coach. The club sacked Beye this month.
Key matchups
Marseille has failed to win its past three league games, badly damaging its title hopes. The results including a 5-0 mauling at PSG have left fans fuming. The club hopes Beye, a disciplinarian advocating ball possession and a strong attacking identity, will produce a jolt.
Beye’s hiring “refocuses us on the challenges we still need to tackle between now and the end of the season,” Marseille owner Frank McCourt said.
Since McCourt bought Marseille in 2016, the former powerhouse has failed to find any form of stability in a succession of coaches and crises. It hasn’t won the league title since 2010.
PSG abandoned the top spot to Lens after losing to Rennes 3-1 last week. Luis Enrique’s team bounced back with a 3-2 win at Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League playoff and hosts last-placed Metz on Saturday. Lens welcomes Monaco the same day.
Third-placed Lyon, on a stunning 13-match winning run, plays at Strasbourg on Sunday.
Players to watch
With the World Cup in his country looming, former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun is hitting form at the right time. The American forward scored twice inside 18 minutes against PSG and has 10 goals and four assists this season.
At PSG, the man in form is Désiré Doué.
After his team quickly fell behind by two goals against Monaco midweek, Doué came to the rescue to turn things around. The France international was relentless and left his mark on the match after coming on as a replacement for Ousmane Dembélé . He first reduced the deficit, played a role in Achraf Hakimi’s equalizer then netted the winner.
Out of action
Dembélé is expected to miss PSG’s match against Metz because of an injured left calf.
Off the field
PSG was sanctioned with the partial closure of the Auteuil stand for two matches and a 10,000 euros ($11,800) fine by the disciplinary committee of the French league following banners displayed and insults directed by supporters during the match against Marseille on Feb. 8. at the Parc des Princes. There were brief discriminatory chants about Marseille at the start of the game and the referee stopped play for about one minute around the 70th.
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