Amine Gouiri stays positive despite Marseille’s pre-season defeat to Atletico Madrid

Amine Gouiri remains positive despite Marseille ending their pre-season with a 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid at the Velodrome.

The Algerian striker started the match and believes the demanding test offered useful preparation ahead of Ligue 1’s return next week.

Marseille took the lead through Igor Paixao but could not protect their advantage against the Spanish side. Even so, Gouiri felt the performance showed that the team has made encouraging progress during the summer.

“It was our final preparation match, so we needed to raise the intensity. We did not get the result we wanted, but I think we produced a good performance and competed with this team. It was a valuable test, although a few details still need correcting. We wanted to win, but results are not the most important thing during pre-season. Now we must focus on the championship,” Gouiri explained.

The forward also insisted that Marseille’s reshaped squad remains united and satisfied with its work under Bruno Genesio and his staff.

“The group feels good. We are working well, and that can be seen on the pitch. We make collective efforts, play well and have an excellent relationship with the staff. We have improved throughout pre-season and are working to begin the league strongly,” he added.