In an impressive display, former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood scored two quick goals, leading Marseille to a commanding 3-1 victory over Toulouse on Saturday and elevating them to the top of Ligue 1.
The 22-year-old Greenwood, who netted twice in his Marseille debut against Brest and once against Reims last week, opened the scoring in the 16th minute and followed up with another goal just a minute later, bringing his total to five goals in three matches.
Greenwood, who joined Marseille last month after a controversial exit from Old Trafford, had his prior charges dropped and spent last season playing in Spain with Getafe.
Toulouse faced a major setback when forward Frank Magri received a red card in the 27th minute for a foul on Geoffrey Kondogbia, further complicating their efforts to mount a comeback.
Brazilian forward Luis Henrique assisted both of Greenwood’s goals, and although he thought he had scored himself shortly after halftime, Marseille’s third goal was later ruled an own goal by Charlie Cresswell.
Toulouse managed a consolation goal late in the game when Gabon striker Shavy Babicka capitalized on a through ball from Djibril Sidibe, deftly navigating around Geronimo Rulli to find the back of the net.
Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, stating, “We had a good first half, scoring two goals. It gave us an advantage to have an extra player, and we relied on our strength in one-on-ones, particularly Greenwood, to score the brace. We need to improve the speed and mentality of this team and should not have conceded the goal; we should have won 3-0.”
With this victory, De Zerbi’s squad tops the table with seven points, level with Nantes, who also triumphed with a 3-1 win over Montpellier.
Nantes Triumphs Over Montpellier
Nantes took the lead through Matthis Abline after 24 minutes, but Akor Adams levelled the score on the half-hour mark. A penalty by Moses Simon in first-half stoppage time restored the lead for the visitors, and Mostafa Mohamed secured the win with a third goal five minutes before the final whistle.
“Seven points out of nine, that’s brilliant. We are super happy,” remarked Nantes coach Antoine Kombouaré.
Brest recorded their first win of the season by thrashing newly-promoted Saint-Étienne 4-0, with Mahdi Camara and Romain Del Castillo finding the net, along with a penalty from Kenny Lala.
Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, currently on six points, have the opportunity to claim the top spot with a victory against Lille on Sunday.
