De Zerbi was previously in line for the Old Trafford hot seat during his outstanding spell at Brighton and Hove Albion before joining the Ligue 1 club instead. He has continued his impressive trajectory in management, helping transform the French heavyweights into a thrilling outfit capable of threatening Paris Saint-Germain‘s dominance at the top.
They faced Premier League opposition on Wednesday but saw their Champions League qualification ambitions dealt a blow as Liverpool secured a commanding 3-0 victory at the Stade Velodrome. Before kick-off, the spotlight fell on Marseille’s coach, with Gerrard heaping praise on the tactician.
The pundit said on TNT Sports: “He’s box office, he’s box office. I think Brighton was great for him; it announced him to the Premier League, it took his stock a lot higher. For me, I look at De Zerbi, the fans, it’s a match made in heaven. Although he was at Brighton, there’s a winner, a fighter in there, a bit of [Antonio] Conte in there, he’s box office, he’s great to watch, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does against this Liverpool team.”
Michael Carrick will continue as caretaker manager at Old Trafford through to the season’s conclusion. His second temporary tenure has begun impressively with a 2-0 triumph against local rivals Manchester City.
But this has not quelled rumours about a permanent appointment arriving at the Theatre of Dreams this summer, with De Zerbi heavily linked. The Marseille coach, however, still has 18 months left on his contract after signing a three-year agreement upon his arrival in the south of France.
Van Dijk also provided insight into what style United might adopt under De Zerbi’s stewardship. Speaking after the match, the Liverpool skipper said: “It’s always difficult to play against De Zerbi teams, I’ll say it like that.
“Because if you’re not front-footed, if you are a little bit late in your press, they can play out pretty easy and obviously keep on playing and taking a risk. If you are winning those balls in between the lines, there’s plenty of space to exploit, and I thought we did that pretty well.”