Olympique de Marseille suffered a 1-0 defeat against Stade Rennais at Roazhon Park, extending its losing streak in Ligue 1 to three consecutive matches, something the club had not experienced since March 2025.
Marseille in Crisis: Three Consecutive Ligue 1 Defeats
The start of the season is beginning to set off alarm bells in Marseille.
What is concerning for Bruno Genesio’s team is not simply the fact that it has lost three matches.
It is the way it has happened.
OM competes, creates chances, and at times plays better than its opponent, but defensive mistakes and, above all, a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal are turning evenly contested matches into defeats.
Three Consecutive Defeats for Marseille
The poor run began against AS Monaco, which defeated the Marseille side 2-0.
Then came one of the most painful blows.
Marseille returned to the Vélodrome looking for a response but ended up losing 3-2 against Paris FC in another match marked by costly mistakes that ultimately punished Genesio’s team.
The coach was particularly critical after that game and acknowledged that his team had made far too many serious mistakes. The result left OM with two defeats in its opening three matchdays and turned the trip to Rennes into a hugely important match.
The improvement in performance arrived.
The result did not.
Against Rennes, Marseille controlled much of the first half and created the better opportunities. Igor Paixão, Timothy Weah, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg all had chances to break the deadlock, but Brice Samba and poor finishing kept the score at 0-0.
The same story continued after halftime.
Amine Harit once again forced Samba into action, while Angel Gomes failed to capitalize on the rebound.
Two minutes later, Adrien Thomasson scored for Rennes.
Another opportunity wasted. Another mistake punished. Another defeat.
A Losing Streak Not Seen Since 2025
You have to go back to March 2025 to find the last time Marseille lost three consecutive matches in Ligue 1.
That run began on Matchday 25 with a 1-0 defeat against Lens at the Vélodrome.
One week later came Le Classique.
Paris Saint-Germain defeated OM 3-1 at the Parc des Princes, with goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Nuno Mendes, and an own goal from Pol Lirola. Amine Gouiri scored Marseille’s only goal.
The third defeat arrived on Matchday 27.
Reims, which had gone 15 matches without a victory in Ligue 1, stunned Marseille with a 3-1 win.
Eighteen months later, the ghosts of those three consecutive defeats have returned.
This time, Monaco, Paris FC, and Rennes have been the teams responsible.
Marseille Creates Chances but Cannot Score
The defeat in Rennes perhaps illustrates the team’s current problems better than any other match.
OM was not comprehensively outplayed.
Quite the opposite.
For much of the match, Marseille took the initiative and created enough opportunities to take the lead. Even after going 1-0 down, it continued to find space, and Paixão came extremely close to equalizing when his deflected header struck the crossbar.
But soccer does not reward intentions.
Marseille once again walked away without scoring, and when it fails to capitalize on its opportunities, its defense is not providing enough margin for error to survive.
Against Rennes, one appearance from Thomasson inside the penalty area was enough to decide the 90 minutes.
That is a major part of Genesio’s problem.
His team can play well for 50 or 60 minutes, but one defensive mistake or one missed opportunity can completely change a match.
And Now Comes Le Classique
The schedule does not offer much time to fix the problems either.
Marseille’s next Ligue 1 match will be none other than against Paris Saint-Germain on September 20 at the Vélodrome.
It is a match that always means much more than three points, but this time it arrives at a particularly delicate moment.
OM must quickly rediscover the clinical finishing that has been missing during these opening matchdays while cutting out the defensive mistakes that are proving far too costly.
Because the soccer being played by Bruno Genesio’s team may not be as bad as the results suggest.
The results, however, are already becoming concerning.
Three consecutive defeats.
Something that had not happened since March 2025.
And Le Classique is waiting just around the corner.
