In Montpellier, some supporters are starting to wonder: have we, all as much as we are, overpriced the Hérault? At the start of the championship, with two recruits (Omlin, Mavididi) and no major departure, except that of Geronimo Rulli after his loan, Montpellier seemed to have a big 4×4 capable of running over a good big half of his opponents in Ligue 1. Only, because they lost the keys for the second time since August, the pailladins advance painfully, or rather retreat for seven days.
Even if it is necessary to qualify, because in the last seven matches in Ligue 1, Montpellier has faced four top names (Lille, Marseille, Monaco, PSG), it must be admitted: the team is in defensive suffering, the attack is a little less prolific, some players seem to lack gas, and the collective seems to wither away, while the number of red cards received (6) and penalties conceded (10) greatly penalize a formation already in bad shape . Unless they are ultimately only the consequence.
Still is it let the fairy tale turn a little sour and that the carriage gradually turns into a pumpkin. For his part, Michel Der Zakarian, in the costume of the cochet, is a trainer who at the beginning of the exercise sometimes found nice shortcuts, but who today, after having tried different schemes, is racking his brains again to find out how to get your team back on the right track. It is therefore to patience and work that the staff and partners of Andy Delort rely.
Thus and for now, Europe which was in the sights has disappeared, and if the Pailladins do not recover on Saturday, against Lens on the occasion of the 22nd day, we will end up thinking that it does not maybe just a mirage. One thing is certain, however: the pailladine training remains capable of bursts and today is doing what it can, with its means: a workforce smaller than that of the leading teams and weapons that do not always seem sharp enough to afford to aim for the top. In any case, the team is not to blame, except when it leaves in the locker room the grinta which is its strength.
From laughter to tears ?
In December, Montpellier faced PSG with the possibility of turning in the lead. 2 months later, the MHSC is 14 points behind the Parisian leader, closer to the barragist than to the podium. Michel Der Zakarian’s men have only taken 2 points out of the 21 put into play during the last seven days.
With 28 units at this stage of the competition, Montpellier is as well as during the first season of Michel Der Zakarian on the bench, while the team had pocketed 33 points in the previous exercise, and 32 on the one before.
Furthermore, it is the worse series in the last four years. To find seven games without a win, you have to go back to the 2016/2017 season, except that at the time, the pailladins had taken four points out of 21. In fact, to find a worse total on a series of seven consecutive games , we still have to go back in time: 2015/2016 season.
Only one point taken, on the first seven meetings in the league. Paradoxical, while many consider that offensively, the team has probably never been able to play so well in recent years than since Der Zak overhauled it.
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