Marseille beat Troyes as Paixao shows frustration at being substituted

Marseille beat Troyes 2-0 on Sunday to close the sixth matchday of Ligue 1. The visitors’ victory was accompanied by a visible show of frustration from Igor Paixao, who was unhappy to be taken off late in the game.

After exchanging a hand slap with his replacement, the Brazilian winger deliberately left his coach Bruno Genesio’s hand unanswered. Genesio tried to hold him back by the arm, but Paixao continued on without looking back at him. The coach eventually let go, appearing irritated.

Paixao’s reaction came in a match in which, according to the account of the game, he had delivered a disappointing performance. Marseille’s goals came from Amine Harit in the 50th minute and a penalty converted by Himad Abdelli in stoppage time. The result was Marseille’s second league win of the season, lifting the club to 13th place and giving it some breathing room near the bottom of the table.

After the game, Genesio played down the incident and said he would support his player: “He was disappointed to come off, perhaps disappointed with his performance too. These are things we can understand, in frustration and irritation. Like the team, Igor needs to regain confidence, and he can count on me to support him.”

Genesio’s players will look to build on the result at Angers next Sunday at 15:00.