Villas-Boas sounds resigned to his fate as Marseille's coach

Speaking with an air of resignation, Andre Villas-Boas accepted his time as Marseille coach might soon be up following another home defeat.

The 1-0 loss to Lens in the French league on Wednesday, where he was tactically outwitted by a novice coach, came after an abject team performance last weekend in a 2-1 home reverse to Nimes.

Villas-Boas did not even try to defend himself.

Marseille's head coach Andre Villas-Boas reacts during the French League One soccer match between Marseille and Lens at the Veledrome stadium in Marseille, France, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)

“If I’m the one who is responsible, which I am, then I am at the disposal of the directors,” he said calmly. “I don’t have a problem with that. I’m not here to become an obstacle.”

Marseille is in sixth place, but the position could soon get worse with tough games ahead.

On Saturday, Marseille travels to face fourth-place Monaco, which is in fine form having won four of its last five matches. Marseille then takes on fifth-place Rennes, before going to Lens and hosting league leader Paris Saint-Germain in the same week.

Marseille's head coach Andre Villas-Boas gestures during the French League One soccer match between Marseille and Nimes at the Veledrome stadium in Marseille, France, Saturday, Jan.16, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)

Fans have already turned on the players, venting their anger before the Lens game.

Villas-Boas is the latest coach feeling the intense scrutiny at Marseille, the only French side to win the Champions League — in 1993 — yet also the most volatile.

Firing Villas-Boas would involve paying a considerable amount of compensation, however, and Marseille can ill afford to shell out money firing and re-hiring since it is heavily cash-strapped.

Lens' Simon Banza scores the opening goal of his team during the French League One soccer match between Marseille and Lens at the Veledrome stadium in Marseille, France, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)

After he guided Marseille to second place last season and an automatic Champions League place, fans hailed Villas-Boas for doing so with limited resources while praising the fighting spirit he instilled in the side.

But tight-knit camaraderie was nowhere to be found against Nimes or Lens, prompting a furious reaction from veteran goalkeeper Steve Mandanda. The France No. 2 has been an ever-present since 2007, aside from one season in England, and is nearing 600 games for Marseille.

He described a chaotic scene at halftime against Lens.

“We screamed an awful lot," he said. “There are many things to change within the club, notably the team spirit. When you play for Marseille, you must have character.”

The long-serving captain wants changes to be made.

“We're just not getting there, there's a problem in the squad. We don't have the collective strength which helped us do well last season," Mandanda said. "We have to do a lot of soul-searching, individually and collectively. We must accept everything that's going to happen.”

Mandanda has said similar things before, and it remains doubtful whether this tirade changes anything.

Dimitri Payet, whose three goals helped France to reach the 2016 European Championship final, has been off form and more like the erratic player who frustrated fans at his previous clubs.

Payet has scored six goals in 21 games this season, compared to 12 in 27 last term.

Winger Florian Thauvin is short of his best after spending almost the entire last season injured. His scoring return of six in 25 this season — at a ratio of .24 goals per game — is way below the 59 in 134 from 2016-19 at a ratio of .44.

But Thauvin remains a highly rated player, having netted 70 goals and provided 45 assists in 187 games for Marseille. At 27 years old he's in his prime, yet he could leave for free in the summer when his contract ends.

However, unlike some other players, Thauvin's work rate remains high.

So, for now at least, hard-to-please Marseille fans have spared him from reproach.

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Bayern Munich still has rivals for the Bundesliga title, in theory at least, and Leipzig is one of them.

After Bayern matched the record points total for the halfway stage of a Bundesliga, beating the record on goal difference, only a spectacular collapse over the next four months would put Bayern's 11-point lead under threat.

Ahead of Saturday's game, Leipzig is third and has plenty to play for in a competitive fight for the Champions League places.

Bayern delivered an opening statement of intent by sweeping aside Leipzig 6-0 in the first round. Leipzig was much improved since and showed strong set-piece awareness in beating Freiburg 2-0 on Wednesday.

It's been a tough start to 2026 for Bayer Leverkusen, which seemed to find consistently strong form at the end of last year. A 4-1 loss to Stuttgart last week was followed by a weather-related postponement, so facing Hoffenheim on Saturday will be a key test.

The big factor holding back seventh-place Eintracht Frankfurt is a defense which has conceded 36 goals in 17 games, the league's third-worst record. Facing Werder Bremen's underperforming attack on Friday is a chance to improve that record.

Lennart Karl's breakout season for Bayern Munich has been must-see viewing in the Bundesliga and Champions League. The 17-year-old attacking midfielder scored again in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Cologne. His success will cause a selection headache for coach Vincent Kompany when Jamal Musiala finally returns from injury.

Hoffenheim's surprise push for Champions League qualification owes a lot to the experienced Andrej Kramaric, who's marking 10 years at the club this month and celebrated with a hat trick on Wednesday against Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Bayern is dealing with an injury list including midfielder Joshua Kimmich, who's spent the last month recovering from an ankle issue, and left back Alphonso Davies, back in training after illness. Defender Josip Stanisic is ruled out for the rest of January and forward Jamal Musiala's long-awaited comeback remains uncertain.

Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba will miss up to three weeks after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations with a muscle injury.

Forward Younes Ebnoutalib scored on his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt against Dortmund last week but was set to miss several weeks after damaging a knee ligament in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Stuttgart.

Postponed games are piling up in the Bundesliga after snowstorms caused chaos in northern Germany last week, causing three matches to be rescheduled. Hamburger SV is working on its stadium's roof ahead of Saturday's game against Borussia Moenchengladbach to avoid another postponement.

Frankfurt's six signings stand out in a quiet transfer window so far for Bundesliga clubs, especially since Ebnoutalib and fellow forward Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab have each scored on their debuts. Young Nigerian winger Suleman Sani has joined Leipzig from Slovakian club Trencin.

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Leipzig's Romulo Cardoso, right, celebrates scoring with teammates Willi Orban, left, Castello Lukeba, second left, and Tidiam Gomis during the Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg in Leipzig, Germany, Wednesday Jan. 14, 2026. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

Bayern players greet fans at the end of the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1.FC Koeln and FC Bayern Munich in Cologne, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)