Marseille coach Didier Deschamps says the Champions League provides a perfect opportunity for his side to forget about their league woes, as they prepare to face Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
The 2010 French champions have endured a torrid start to the Ligue 1 campaign, picking up one win from their first eight games, and drew 1-1 at Valenciennes on Saturday after conceding a 93rd-minute equaliser.
However, they top their Champions League group after winning 1-0 at Olympiakos in their opening game and can take command of Group F with victory over the German champions this week, ahead of a double-header with Arsenal.
"The draw at Valenciennes, with the equaliser right at the end of the match, was a blow to the head," said Deschamps at Tuesday's pre-match press conference.
"Losing two points in the 93rd minute in our situation, when we're lacking points, is difficult. Pessimism? There may be some, but the most important thing is what happens in the changing room.
"We can't go backwards. We have a match against a very good Dortmund team."
He added: "It's a magnificent interlude, always with the same ambition of getting through the group phase.
"The Champions League is the greatest club competition, with the best teams and the best players. And the matches are sometimes of a better quality than in the World Cup or the European Championship.
"It's an exalted and exciting context that allows you to go beyond yourselves. We're first in our group, I hope it'll still be the case tomorrow (Wednesday) night."
As a player, Deschamps was on the losing side when Juventus were stunned by Dortmund in the 1997 Champions League final, but he says that defeat is not an extra source of personal motivation for Wednesday's game.
"It's still a very bad memory for me, even though I've won the tournament (twice, once with Marseille and once with Juventus)," he said.
"But it happened such a long time ago that I have no thirst for revenge. It's another context and another story."
Having romped to a first German league crown in nine years last season, Dortmund's title defence has begun in underwhelming fashion.
They currently sit eighth in the Bundesliga, eight points behind a resurgent Bayern Munich after seven games, but Deschamps knows that Jurgen Klopp's young side are still a formidable proposition.
"It's a team of very high quality," said Deschamps.
"They have significant athletic power and a very good central defence with (Neven) Subotic and (Mats) Hummels, who are without doubt two of the best defenders in Europe.
"It's a team that likes to go forward, whether at home or away. The less they have the ball, the better.
"They have two players who accelerate their play, (Shinji) Kagawa and (Mario) Gotze. We'll have to make them run and work defensively."
Source: AFP
