Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34), who has scored just one Ligue 1 goal in 10 matches, was booed by the Vélodrome crowd as he was substituted during Olympique de Marseille’s 0-0 draw against Lille OSC on Saturday. Whilst he defended his out-of-form forward, manager Gennaro Gattuso did nonetheless add that “the fans are always right.”
Aubameyang has struggled for form since arriving from Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer. The Gabonese forward has scored five goals in 15 games for Les Phocéens, but only one of those goals has come in the French top flight. That goal came in a comfortable 3-0 victory against 10-man Le Havre in early October.
Aubameyang was substituted in the 77th minute of OM’s 0-0 draw against Lille and his exit was greeted with boos from the home fans. “I will always defend my players, not only Aubameyang. Today, the supporters booed Aubameyang’s exit, but also the team and me because they weren’t happy and we have to accept that,” began Gattuso in a post-match interview with Prime Video Sport.
He added, “Of course, we need to be better. It is normal to be worried when we are booed. We didn’t give the maximum and so it is difficult to accept […] We can’t give up because we have been booed. The supporters are always right. They paid for tickets and if they don’t like what we do, we have to accept that.”
Marseille face AEK Athens in the Europa League on Thursday before a trip to face RC Lens next weekend.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
