De Zerbi: Marseille has remained competitive on both fronts and we can win the last three rounds of the Champions League

November 26th: In the fifth round of the Champions League early this morning, Marseille defeated Newcastle 2-1 at home. Marseille coach De Zerbi was interviewed after the game.

How do you evaluate the performance of this game?

We were a bit confused in the first 10 minutes of the game, but in the end we only gave our opponents few chances in the first half and also created many opportunities ourselves, despite Newcastle's strong strength. I am very satisfied with the performance of Bakola, Pavard, Weah, Vermeulen, Valherdi, and of course Rulli and Hojbjerg.

Bakola started the game, what do you think of his performance?

He showed his personality in the first half, which I really appreciate. Although he made some mistakes, he also produced many wonderful performances. He took risks and made this game his night. I chose to start him instead of Gomez, mainly because of the physical confrontation. Newcastle players are very capable of physical confrontation. In my opinion, he is an important weapon for the team in this regard.

Will this performance help your team grow?

Confidence is obviously important, especially in this season's Champions League. We are also currently ranked second in the French Ligue 1 standings, behind Paris Saint-Germain, and may even have gained a few more points. We can stay competitive on both fronts, which is great.

Marseille currently has 2 wins, 3 losses and 6 points in the Champions League. Do you have a chance to advance to the top 16 of the Champions League?

This victory is very important on a psychological level and can boost the team's confidence. We have proven that we are capable of beating Newcastle and we have three rounds of Champions League games left and we are also capable of winning.