Montpellier HSC head coach Michel Der Zakarian has been sacked from his position in the wake of Sunday's embarrassing 5-0 loss at the hands of Marseille.
La Paillade have made a dreadful start to the 2024-25 campaign and currently sit at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, taking just four points from their first eight contests.
Montpellier were condemned to their third straight defeat in the French top flight on Sunday, where goals from Elye Wahi, Amine Harit, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Luis Henrique and Mason Greenwood propelled Roberto De Zerbi's merciless Marseille to a 5-0 win at the Stade de la Mosson.
Der Zakarian had previously overseen defeats to Monaco (2-1) and Reims (4-2) before the international break, and Montpellier have already conceded a staggering 26 goals this term, by far the most in the division.
Straight after Sunday's home humiliation, Der Zakarian was axed from his position by Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin, who spoke to DAZN France in the immediate aftermath and announced the decision publicly.
"We can't change 25 players so, unfortunately, I've taken the initiative to stop Michel tonight. We talked in the locker room after the game," Nicollin said.
'The players' great job got the coach fired'
🚨🚨🚨Der Zakarian débarqué ce soir #MHFCOM pic.twitter.com/2Eh5B09uo3
— Pina. 8️⃣ (@Pinaldo88) October 20, 2024
"I told him it was over tonight. And 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's public departure brings an end to the Armenian's second spell in charge of La Paillade, whom he initially took charge of for four years between 2017 and 2021 before leaving for Brest.
Der Zakarian spent just over a year in charge of Les Pirates and returned to Montpellier midway through the 2022-23 season, winning 22 of his 61 games in charge during his second stint at the club.
The 61-year-old - who also represented Montpellier as a player from 1988 to 1997 - becomes the first manager to lose his job in the current Ligue 1 season, and La Paillade's first game without Der Zakarian in the chair comes at home to Toulouse next Sunday.
Montpellier famously won the Ligue 1 title in the 2011-12 season, but they have finished in the bottom half of the table in each of the last three campaigns.
Ben Knapton
