Aston Villa and Marseille had an eerie friendly clash in France, and Roberto des Zerbi was not so impressed with Unai Emery’s approach to the game in a talented atmosphere
Roberto des Zerbi told Unai Emery that there was nothing like a “friendly match” after clashing with the Aston Villa coach at a fierce meeting in the South of France. Villa was defeated 3-1 by Marseille at Stade Bellodrome after former Arsenal striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (now 36) left the bench and scored two late goals.
However, the malicious clash led Tyrone Mings to grab first half scorer Mason Greenwood with a collar and torn his shirt after former Manchester United stumbled over Amadow Onana. The striker was kicked out in the Belgian midfielder after avoiding many challenges.
Onana was impressed and denounced Greenwood, and he laughed at her face. The Villa star then gestured towards his face before Mings attacked, followed by many players from both sides. Greenwood was taken from the field by De Zerbi in the aftermath.
Emery was furious at Marseille’s rough tactics a week before the start of the Premier League season. However, former Brighton boss Deservi was not impressed by the Spaniard’s response.
“He complained to my players. I like him to look after his players, and I take care of me,” De Zerbi said. “The match was heated, like people were paid to come to the Velodrome and when they might have gone to the beach where they had to respect them.
read more: Two players have been removed from Premier League openers, so worried about injury to Philfoden in Man Cityread more: A moment of silence forced to close early before Diogojo Talibapool vs Crystal Palace
“We are a professional team like Aston Villa and never have really friendly matches or training sessions like Sevilla.
“We must go there with the same attitude rather than acting without commitment. Tomorrow (Sunday) morning, we don’t have time to train, have fun or make ourselves look pretty.”
Aston Villa will move from France to Spain and face Villarreal at Estadi de la Ceramica. The trip marks Emery’s return to the yellow submarine after his two-year spell with the club that won the Europa League reached the Champions League semi-finals.
It will be the last opportunity for the Spaniards to prepare their villains for the Premier League opening match against Newcastle United on Saturday.
The Midlands hope to launch a campaign to start a quick start with European qualification rivals.
Join the new WhatsApp community and receive a daily amount of mirror football content. We also treat community members with special offers, promotions and advertising. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, you can read the privacy notice.
Sky Sports Discount Premier League and EFL Packages
£43
£35
Sky
Get the deal here
Sky has cut the prices of Essential TV and Sky Sports bundles ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering over 1,400 live matches in the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, showing an even greater increase of up to 100.
