Valbuena targets Marseille improvements

Mathieu Valbuena admitted that Marseille needed to learn lessons from their defeat to 10-man Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

The defending champions came from a goal down to beat their rivals 2-1 at Stade Velodrome and Valbuena conceded that they had come up short against a top side again.

Valbuena was fouled in the box in an incident that led to Thiago Motta’s dismissal and Andre Ayew’s opener from the spot, but goals from Maxwell and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – also a penalty – secured a win for the capital club.

The defeat means that Elie Baup’s side have failed to beat Monaco, Arsenal, Dortmund and PSG already this season and Valbuena knows that they still have a long way to go in order to compete with the best.

“I’ll repeat what I said after Monaco,” he said. “Each time against the big teams we make good games but in the end they take the win.

“There is still a long way to go to compete against the big teams, either in the Champions League or Ligue 1. Fortunately there are a few days to contemplate.

“I am annoyed and disappointed – inevitably given the situation and the context of the match.

“We have not seen the best PSG tonight, but that’s what the big teams do. When they win, they are not always flamboyant, that is a lesson for us to ponder.”

Valbuena will now join up with the France squad for their friendly against Australia and final FIFA World Cup qualifying clash versus Finland.