Tinkering too far – Manager tries player in new position after transfer from Tottenham, goes horribly wrong

Marseille’s loss to Strasbourg was their first of the Ligue 1 season and it came after Roberto De Zerbi experimented with his approach.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who arrived from Tottenham in the summer, has played in midfield early on in the season. That wasn’t how things were at the weekend.

La Figaro have looked at how the ex-Tottenham man played at centre-back and they note that the experiment was ‘surprising’ from De Zerbi.

The Danish star was ‘imperial’ in midfield before the game against Strasbourg but he couldn’t set the tone yesterday. Marseille were ‘clumsy’ in holding the ball and were ‘feverish’ at the back.

Hojbjerg’s disappointing performance had a role to play in the defeat. L’Equipe gave him a rating of only 4 out 10, which is a clear indication of how the experiment didn’t work out.

It might be time for De Zerbi to go back to a tried and tested setup, as they look to make sure that they stay in the Ligue 1 title race for as long as they can. They are currently only three points behind league leaders Paris Saint-Germain.