French football fans were left stunned after Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin announced that he had made the decision to sack manager Michel Der Zakarian on live television at the weekend.
Montpellier have picked up just one win in Ligue 1 this season and their crisis deepened as they were thumped 5-0 at home to Marseille to ensure they remained rooted to the foot of the table.
The night got off to the worst possible start for Montpellier as Marseille forward Elye Wahi broke the deadlock just 44 seconds into the contest at the Stade de la Mosson.
Further goals from Amine Harit and Tottenham loanee Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gave Marseille an imperious lead at the halfway stage before former Manchester United attacker Mason Greenwood and Luis Enrique joined the fun in the second half.
The result means rock-bottom Montpellier have accumulated just four points this season, with Angers sitting above La Paillade on goal difference after eight games.
Speaking to DAZN France in the immediate aftermath of the loss, Montpellier’s president took the unusual step of announcing Der Zakarian’s dismissal while live on air.
‘We can’t change 25 players so, unfortunately, I’ve taken the initiative to stop Michel tonight,’ Nicollin told DAZN’s Benoit Cheyrou and Smail Bouabdellah, who both appeared taken aback by the news.
Nicollin blamed Montpellier’s players for Der Zakarian losing his job and demanded an improved performance at home to Toulouse next weekend.
‘We talked in the locker room after the game. I told him it was over tonight,’ he added.
‘I said to the players that, thanks to their great job, they had fired the coach and that they need to take their responsibilities next week against Toulouse.’
Der Zakarian returned to Montpellier for his second reign as manager in February 2023 after a four-year spell from 2017 to 2021.
Montpellier must now begin the search for a replacement to fill the void left by the Armenian, who also represented the club for a decade during his playing days.
Top-of-the-table Paris Saint-Germain have enjoyed a strong start in their defence of the Ligue 1 title and sit above second-placed Monaco on goal difference after six victories from eight.
Luis Enrique’s men responded to their disappointing 1-1 draw at Nice with a 4-2 victory over Strasbourg on Saturday.
Senny Mayulu, Marco Asensio, Bradley Barcola and Lee Kang-In all got on the scoresheet for PSG at the Parc des Princes.
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