"Marseille took a radical step and announced the resignation of their head coach two days before the match with Shakhtar.

On the eve of the Europa League return leg with Shakhtar Donetsk, the management of French club Marseille announced the resignation of head coach Gennaro Gattuso. The Italian football legend has been in charge for five months and failed to improve the team's performance.

This is stated on the official website of Marseille. Gattuso took over the French club on September 27 last year, replacing the Spaniard Marcelinho. Under the Italian's leadership, the Provençal team played 24 matches, in which they achieved only nine victories.

Moreover, this year Marseille managed to win only one game out of eight, losing 1-0 to the representatives of the country's sixth-strongest division in the French Cup.

The last straw was an away defeat to Brest in the national championship. Gattuso's men played in the majority for the last half hour but managed to concede in the 88th minute.

The club's management is expected to announce a new coach before the match against Shakhtar, which will take place at the Velodrome Stadium on Thursday, February 22. In the first match, the Ukrainians and the French parted ways with a 2-2 draw.