Greenwood ends drought as Marseille grind out crucial win at Le Havre
Mason Greenwood ended his six-match goal drought as Habib Beye’s Olympique de Marseille secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory away to Le Havre AC on Sunday evening, keeping OM firmly in the hunt for European qualification after another turbulent week off the pitch.
The build-up to the encounter had once again been overshadowed by chaos at La Commanderie following Marseille’s heavy defeat to FC Nantes last weekend. OM travelled to Normandy without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the Gabon international was left out of the squad following an incident involving a club official earlier in the week.
On the pitch, Marseille started nervously and Le Havre quickly sensed vulnerability. The hosts carved out the game’s first opportunities through Issa Soumaré and Sofiane Boufal, but Gerónimo Rulli produced a series of important interventions to keep the visitors level.
OM struggled to create clear openings in the first half, although Amine Gouiri curled narrowly wide after being played in down the left-hand side. Igor Paixão also squandered a promising opening inside the area as Le Havre defended stubbornly.
Le Havre’s best moment before the interval arrived from a Boufal free-kick. Gautier Lloris flicked the delivery goalwards, but Rulli reacted superbly to deny both the initial effort and the rebound, preserving parity heading into the break.
Marseille take slender lead
Marseille emerged with more intensity after half-time and nearly struck through Gouiri, who turned a close-range effort wide at the back post. Greenwood then began to influence proceedings more consistently, first earning a dangerous free-kick on the edge of the box before a handball inside the wall handed OM a route to goal moments later.
The English forward stepped up confidently to convert the resulting penalty in the 55th minute, celebrating emphatically after weeks of scrutiny surrounding his recent form.
Le Havre were handed an immediate opportunity to respond when Facundo Medina brought Boufal down inside the penalty area. However, the Moroccan rattled the crossbar from the spot before Rulli reacted quickly once again to claw away the rebound.
That moment proved decisive. Marseille retreated deeper during the closing stages and invited sustained pressure from the hosts, but Beye’s side defended resiliently to preserve their slender advantage.
Paixão thought he had sealed the result late on after finishing beyond Mory Diaw on the counterattack, only for VAR to rule the effort out for offside.
It mattered little in the end as Marseille held on for a precious three points, easing some of the pressure surrounding the club and reigniting their hopes of securing European football next season.
THE STAT: sharp from the spot
Mason Greenwood has scored 6 penalties this season, the joint-highest total in the Ligue 1 (alongside Romain Del Castillo).
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