Marseille Head to Rennes on Three Points as Genesio Calls Out a "Rotten" Summer Window
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Marseille travel to Rennes on Friday evening sitting tenth in Ligue 1 with just three points from three matches, after head coach Bruno Genesio publicly criticised the club's transfer strategy this summer, saying "the market was rotten." Genesio has said he does not want supporters believing his squad is built for a Champions League push this season, having reportedly come close to quitting mid-summer over owner Frank McCourt's insistence on a sell-only window that left the squad short in key positions.
Rennes are looking for a third straight league win when they host Marseille at Roazhon Park in Friday's matchday four fixture, with head coach Franck Haise saying he has "16, 17, 18 players" capable of starting and expected to rotate his squad with a full group available.
Marseille will be without Geoffrey Kondogbia and Tochukwu Nnadi for the trip to Rennes, Genesio confirmed, further thinning his options after a summer in which the club made no permanent signings.
PSG boss Luis Enrique used his post-match press conference following the Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava to single out Ousmane Dembele's performance over hat-trick scorer Ferran Torres, saying Dembele's "intensity, with the ball, without the ball" was what impressed him most. Torres, who scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut for the club, described the night as "like a dream."
Transfer and squad notes
Lyon winger Adil Hamdani, 17, has returned to first-team training after a spell with the reserves, with head coach Paulo Fonseca asking for patience with the youngster's development.
What it means for the league
Marseille's public airing of frustration over their summer transfer strategy sets up an uncomfortable narrative heading into a trip to a Rennes side already building momentum, with the gap between the two clubs already visible after three rounds. PSG's dominant Champions League form, built on new signings like Torres alongside established performers such as Dembele, underlines the scale of investment separating the champions from a Marseille side still adjusting to a summer defined by departures rather than arrivals.