Ten minutes of uncertainty for Marseille

Olympique Marseille managed to secure their second win of the season. True, the home side played with a man advantage for 80 minutes, but it could serve as a valuable boost for the rest of the campaign

Marseille went into halftime with a commanding 3-0 lead over Lorient, thanks to an action-packed opening 45 minutes at the Stade Velodrome.

The hosts almost struck early in the 5th minute when Mason Greenwood found himself one-on-one with Yvon Mvogo, but the Lorient goalkeeper reacted brilliantly, diving acrobatically to push the shot over the bar.

Just five minutes later, the match took a decisive turn. Darlin Yongwa was shown a straight red card for pulling down an opponent inside the box, leaving Lorient a man down and handing Marseille a penalty. Greenwood calmly converted from the spot in the 12th minute, sending Mvogo the wrong way with a precise strike into the bottom left corner. The goal is HERE!

Marseille doubled their advantage in the 20th minute. Greenwood’s corner delivery picked out Benjamin Pavard, who was inexplicably left unmarked and powered a header under the crossbar to make it 2-0. You can see the goal HERE!

The dominance continued in the 33rd minute, when Angel Gomes pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the box and curled a superb strike into the top left corner, extending the lead to three goals.

In the 39th minute, Marseille thought they might have another chance from the spot after a VAR review for a potential penalty, but referee Thomas Leonard eventually waved play on.

With a commanding 3-0 advantage already secured before the break, Marseille eased off the throttle in the second half, controlling possession and managing the game rather than chasing more goals.

Even so, Mason Greenwood remained lively in attack and came close on several occasions. In the 60th minute, he met a cross inside the box and powered a header toward the bottom-right corner, only for goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo to produce a brilliant save.

Greenwood threatened again in the 72nd minute, this time connecting with a free-kick delivery and directing a precise header toward the far post. Once more, Mvogo was equal to it, reacting sharply to deny him. Just a minute later, Greenwood latched onto a perfectly timed pass in the penalty area but fired just over the bar, narrowly missing out on adding to Marseille’s tally.

Nayef Aguerd put the finishing touch on the match with a goal in the final seconds.

Despite those chances, the second half remained less attractive. Marseille had already done the damage in the opening 45 minutes and scored fourth before the end, sealing a comfortable 4-0 victory.

LIGUE 1 - MATCHDAY 4

Friday

Olympique Marseille - Lorient 4-0 (3-0)

/Greenwood 13 pen, Pavard 20, Gomes 33, Aguerd 90+3/

Saturday

18.00: (1.75) Nice (3.60) Nantes (4.90)

22.05: (5.00) Auxerre (4.20) Monaco (1.65)

Sunday

16.00: (1.85) Lille (3.80) Toulouse (4.50)

18.15: (2.35) Brest (3.50) Paris (3.15)

18.15: (2.40) Metz (3.25) Angers (3.25)

18.15: (1.35) PSG (5.80) Lens (8.50)

18.15: (1.65) Strasbourg (3.70) Le Havre (5.60)

21.45: (2.75) Rennes (3.65) Olympique Lyon (2.55)

***odds are subject to change***