“It is serious. We didn’t play well. We gave the ball away too often and we had difficulties building the play. The lack of control in our attacking play is my responsibility,” said Villas-Boas after OM went down 3-1 at the Orange Vélodrome to suffer their first defeat in 15 Ligue 1 Conforama games since their 4-0 loss away to Paris Saint-Germain in late October.

“Our unbeaten run in the league has come to an end and that is a shame. We thought the game had changed when we got back to 1-1 and got our confidence back, but the second goal was a major blow. We changed to play with two attackers but didn’t create much.”

Marseille fell behind to Anthony Limbombe’s opener, but a curling effort from Morgan Sanson brought OM back on level terms before the break. However, Abdoul Kader Bamba restored the visitors’ lead early in the second half and a late Álvaro González own goal confirmed Marseille’s defeat. So impressive this season, Valentin Rongier and Dimitri Payet both struggled for the home side against their former club, with the former guilty of giving the ball away in the build-up to Bamba’s goal.

“Rongier and Payet have been really good this season and this game is not going to change my view of them,” added Villas-Boas. “Rongier gave one ball away, but that happens. We should be congratulating the team for their extraordinary run. Now we need to go out and find the answers that will enable us to beat Nîmes and forget the result today.”

'Had to come at some point'

Second-placed Marseille visit Nîmes next Friday and they retain a considerable advantage over the sides below them - OM are nine points ahead of LOSC, who climbed into third by beating Toulouse FC 3-0 on Saturday. Stade Rennais FC can trim that gap to eight points by beating Nîmes on Sunday.

“It is the end of a our run and it had to come at some point. We would have preferred it to be in a different manner and not at home, but I am not worried because we still have a little cushion and we are not going to let our heads go down,” said goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.

Meanwhile, there was delight for Nantes coach Christian Gourcuff as his team ended a run of five league outings without a victory.

“Our situation, which was a bit dangerous, focused everyone on our collective objectives, and everyone was fully implicated. We need to find some consistency, but football is also about enjoyment and the players can be really satisfied,” Gourcuff said.