Marseille edge Monaco in nervy encounter

Olympique de Marseille kept pace in the race for the Champions League to finish off Matchday 16 in Ligue 1 McDonald's, winning for the first time in three matches to go back into third place. Catch up on all the action from the Stade Vélodrome with our match report.

A cautious approach from Roberto de Zerbi

After having stumbled in Ligue 1 McDonald's of late (a loss to Lille and a draw with Toulouse in their last two matches), Marseille manager Roberto de Zerbi set out his stall rather differently on Sunday evening. While his team still nominally played a 4-2-3-1, he opted for three central midfielders, leaving Igor Paixão on the bench as he sought to limit Monaco in possession. As for Sébastien Pocognoli's side, his team was largely unchanged from the eleven which beat Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Marseille started the match the brighter, with early chances for Mason Greenwood (4') and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (6'), the latter of which was well-saved by Lukas Hradecky. After surviving that initial onslaught, Monaco grew into the match, with Takumi Minamino (31', 42') twice testing Geronimo Rullí before the break. Just after the second of those chances, Rulli would have Pierre-Emile Højberg to thank as the midfielder cleared an effort by Folarin Balogun off the line (43'), leaving the match scoreless at the half.

Mason Greenwood scores in the final 10 minutes for OM 🔟⚽️ pic.twitter.com/1i4tgxk6pW

— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) December 14, 2025

Greenwood (finally) breaks the deadlock

The second half would prove every bit as heart-pounding as the first, with Monaco starting sharply, only for the offside flag to come up to rule out what would have been a first goal for Senegalese international (51') Lamine Camara. Marseille responded through Matt O'Riley, who had come off the bench at the break, but Thilo Kehrer cleared the Dane's shot off the line as well (56'). 

The hosts were growing into the match, and then thought they had a chance for a penalty (71') for a handball on Mohammed Salisu, but after a check with VAR, it was waved off. Then, with ten minutes to play, it looked as if Monaco had opened the scoring through Folarin Balogun, but the offside flag once again game up, opening the door for Greenwood to score the match's only goal with seven minutes to play. The Principality side pushed hard to respond, but the result stood, allowing OM to move up to third while Monaco remain ninth.

The Stat: 11 

Mason Greenwood scored his 11th Ligue 1 McDonald's goal of the season -- only Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé have scored more in league play among Europe's Top 5 leagues this season.

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