An hour of damage control at the Stade Louis-II
Geoffrey Kondogbia was taken off in the 59th minute on Sunday night with a problem in his right thigh. By then, Monaco were already 2-0 up. The midfielder, dropped into centre-back by Bruno Genesio from the start, had spent an hour under the cosh against Paris Brunner.
The 20-year-old German scored twice. For the second, he first slipped away from Kondogbia’s shirt, then beat him with a quick turn before leaving Egan-Riley behind. Kondogbia stayed down. A few seconds later, he picked up the injury while playing a harmless pass to Gouiri.
It was his 10th injury since arriving in Marseille, according to Transfermarkt. The numbers are grim: 296 days of competitive action missed and 37 matches sat out in a Marseille shirt.
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Ratings of 1.5, 2 and 2.5 the morning after
The press did not hold back. Foot Mercato gave him a 3, pointing to the full sequence on the second goal. Le Phocien lumped him in with the “awful” crowd on 2.5, alongside Quinten Timber. L’Equipe dropped him to 2.
La Provence was harshest, handing out 1.5 while noting three tidy interventions in the 10th, 48th and 50th minutes. The regional paper focused mainly on his lack of pace and the failed clearance that led to the opener.
Le Figaro was kinder, calling it “bad luck”. That doesn’t really change the bigger picture.
Genesio backs his defender
The Marseille coach refused to pile on his player. “I don’t think you can draw conclusions from one match,” he told the media. He pointed out that Brunner is a powerful striker who is hard to mark, and said the real issue was collective on the second balls.
There’s something in that. Kondogbia was playing in a role that isn’t his, in a side that made no signings all summer and is heading into the closing stages of the window without defensive cover.
A contract running to 2027
The length of the lay-off is still unknown. The right thigh has gone again. At 33, and with a contract running to 2027, the former Monaco man has little room left to shift the narrative.
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