Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 3, 31/08/24
A disappointing result last weekend had dampened Roberto De Zerbi’s giddy start to life at Olympique de Marseille. Les Phocéens had been the better side against Stade de Reims but walked away with only one point. A trip to Toulouse FC would be a chance for the club to try and exorcise some of those regrets.
But for fifteen minutes Marseille were forced to endure a vibrant Toulouse. The visitors struggled to find a way past the compact and strict wall of purple shirts that prevented them from passing balls through the midfield.
There were early nerves in a Leonardo Balerdi-less defence as Lilian Brassier and Derek Cornelius quickly tried to forge an onfield partnership in the absence of the injured Argentine, and this almost resulted in an opening goal for Toulouse. Brassier’s attempted clearance was fired directly into his centre-back partner and to his fortune trickled wide.
The hosts start would unravel to an innocuous mistake from Charlie Cresswell. The defender’s pass towards Zakaria Aboukhlalwas picked up by Quentin Merlin who drove the play forward with Luis Henrique. The Brazilian winger slipped a ball into Mason Greenwood whose shot from a tight angle opened the scoring in the 16th minute.
It would be a nightmare two minutes for Cresswell as shortly after the restart the centre-back’s pass would once again fall short. Elye Wahi picked up the ball and flicked the ball onto Luis Henrique who assisted Greenwood for the second time this game.
At 2-0 down Toulouse needed to keep it tight and focused, but things would go from bad to worse before the end of the first half as Frank Magri was sent off for a high boot on Geoffrey Kondogbia.
The second half faired little better for Les Violets and in the 53rd minute, Cresswell’s disastrous night would be capped with an own goal as his hand deflected Luis Henrique’s shot into the back of the net.
It almost felt like an exhibition match as the game wore on. Marseille were in cruise control as they held 76% possession against a ten-man Toulouse. However, the night would not end without a slight blot on an otherwise perfect display.
Geróimo Rulli who had almost nothing to do throughout the game was beaten in a foot race to a loose ball past the Marseille defence. Shavy Babicka was the first to reach it and was able to pass by Rulli and shoot into the open net to record a consolation goal. Marseille would not care. On their 125th anniversary, the club would end the evening on top of the Ligue 1 table, albeit with their rivals still to play.
Marseille Player Ratings
Gerónimo Rulli, 5
Quentin Merlin, 7
Lilian Brassier, 5
Derek Cornelius, 6
Michael Amir Murillo, 5
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, 8
Geoffrey Kondogbia, 7
Luis Henrique, 8
Amine Harit, 7 – Harit continues to make life difficult for Roberto De Zerbi. It looked as if the former Schalke man would be making way for the new signing Valentín Carboni this season, but another great performance means that Harit looks undroppable. The midfielder has an exceptional eye and was crucial in the third goal spotting the run of Luis Henrique.
Mason Greenwood, 8
Elye Wahi, 5 – A far better evening than his performance against Stade de Reims. He was vital in the second goal. However, there are still a few concerns. The striker struggled to hold up the ball and seemed to lose possession frequently in his duel with Rasmus Nicolaisen.
Toulouse selected player ratings
Guillaume Restes, 6
Charlie Cresswell, 3 – A terrible evening for the new signing from Leeds. The defender will be devastated to be at fault for all of Marseille’s goals. He was substituted not long after his own goal.
Frank Magri, 3
