FOUR FOR MASON GREENWOOD: MARSEILLE RUN RIOT WITH SIX–GOAL THRILLER
Mason Greenwood scores FOUR goals as Marseille thrash Le Havre 6-2 to go top of Ligue 1. The former Man United star is the first OM player with a Ligue 1 quadruple since 1991.
File Photo: Goal Fest! Greenwood Leads the Way in Marseille’s 6–Goal Rout
On Saturday, Marseille defeated 10-man Le Havre 6-2, led by four goals by Mason Greenwood, and overtook fierce rivals Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 standings.
Unstoppable, the former Manchester United forward led his team to their fifth consecutive victory after joining Marseille on a permanent transfer in the summer of 2024.
Marseille led PSG by one point after eight matches, despite PSG's home draw with Strasbourg on Friday.
Under coach Roberto De Zerbi, Marseille was gaining defensive consistency and scoring goals at a rate of 21 in eight games.
"It was the perfect evening," Leonardo Balerdi, the captain of Marseille, remarked.
Greenwood scored the game-winning penalty after Gautier Lloris, a defender for Le Havre, was sent off for a voluntary handball in the area. Yassine Kechta had prioritised a trip to Le Havre.
After the half, Greenwood added three more goals. He had been thriving in Marseille and concluded the previous season with 21 goals, sharing the top spot with Ousmane Dembélé. However, Greenwood won the trophy because he scored more penalties than Dembélé.
According to the statistics website Opta, Greenwood became the first Marseille player to score four goals in a Ligue 1 game since Jean-Pierre Papin in 1991.
Marseille's other goals were added by Robinio Vaz and Amir Murillo, and Le Havre's Aboulaye Touré cut the lead with the game's greatest goal—a left-footed volley into the top corner from outside the box.
Despite dominating for extended periods on the French Riviera, seven-time champions Lyon lost 3-2 at Nice, where they may have advanced above PSG.
In the fifth minute, Nice defender Melvin Bard connected with a beautiful cross from Sofiane Diop, putting the visitors behind.
Lyon dominated the first half and duly equalised close to the halftime hour with a header from Pavel Sulc.
However, Nice took most of its few opportunities and took the lead again five minutes later when Diop converted from a provider to a scorer with a beautiful finish from a close angle.
After halftime, Nice's Yehvann Diouf saved a penalty kick attempt by Lyon's Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Hicham Boudaoui's goal in the 55th minute completed the victory. Sulc gave Lyon a comeback in extra time, but it was insufficient.
Nice improved to eighth place, four points behind Lyon, after ending a five-game losing streak in all competitions.
In a 1-1 tie with struggling Angers, U.S. forward Folarin Balogun gave fifth-place Monaco their second league goal of the year.
Balogun came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute after neither team could produce a shot on goal in the first half. This was one of the successful substitutions made by new Monaco coach Sébastien Pocognoli.
Another substitute, Takumi Minamino, set up Balogun on the outskirts of the box with a superb touch. In the 72nd minute, Balogun resisted a defender's push and tucked a low effort home.
But with four minutes remaining, 18-year-old centre striker Sidiki Cherif scored his first Ligue 1 goal, and Monaco was unable to maintain the lead.
GUARDIOLA TIPS HAT TO DYCHE: ‘HE’S AMONG THE VERY BEST’
Pep Guardiola hails new Forest boss Sean Dyche as "the best" at set-pieces, noting the trend isn't new. He also revealed that Man City has struggled with dead-ball situations this season compared to rivals like Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola shaking hands with Sean Dyche - COURTESY/PHOTO
According to Pep Guardiola, Nottingham Forest has one of the best representatives of the new fascination in football at their disposal.
Although Mikel Arteta, Arsenal, and their ability to score goals from set pieces are admired by the football community, Guardiola has reminded everyone that the idea is not particularly new.
As demonstrated during his tenure as Burnley's manager from 2012 to 2012, he did, in fact, hail incoming Forest manager Sean Dyche as "one of the greatest."
The 54-year-old guided the Clarets into the Premier League and kept them there for six seasons before exiting Turf Moor.
Forest, who have only won one league game so far and are now in third place, can now access that knowledge.
Man City boss Guardiola said, “It’s true that people utilise every throw-in like a corner and put 10 players there in the box.
"Every move (Michael) Kayode made in the box caused us to suffer when we played at Brentford or watched Brentford play Liverpool in our hotel. Additionally, Kayode was the match's man.
“Today, set pieces are a menace. I recall being in Burnley a long time ago with Sean Dyche. Burnley posed a serious threat in the second and long balls.
"Dyche is by far the finest at these kinds of things. He has already done it; therefore, it is not fresh.
Or Sam Allardyce. Or I recall Stoke City when I was not here. Do you recall the throws made by Stoke City?
Maybe Stoke was the anomaly back then, but more and more teams are doing that now.
"I recall that Arsene Wenger mentioned playing at Stoke City while I was at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but these days it happens frequently.
It may have happened (only) at Burnley or not at all when I got there, but it is a fact now. You must also pay attention. I still want to play, though.
This season, Arsenal has already scored nine league goals from set pieces, five from open play, and two from penalties.
With eight (plus eight from open play and one penalty), Chelsea is not far behind.
On the other end of the scale, though, are Forest and Man City. While City has scored 12 goals from open play, three more on the counterattack, and two own goals, they have yet to score from a set piece. The Reds have scored two of their five goals from restarts.
"Every manager does what they think," Guardiola stated. I am not ignorant of the fact that I want to score from corners and free kicks. I desire it. However, I dedicate my time to what we need to do to improve our play, attack, and generate opportunities. to score goals.
I pay attention, of course, but I am aware that I am not the manager to try to; I have done that my entire career. When things became rough at Burnley, I recall that we gave up maybe one corner, if any, as the second balls were under our control. That is the most effective method of defending these games.
However, you need to be strong in many areas for that, and we are working on it. I will keep working mostly on our game till the very end. And occasionally, as necessary, adjust.
At Brentford, we performed quite well. James, the French set-piece coach, did a fantastic job of enticing our guys into defending these kinds of acts. The same was true at Arsenal: it was amazing. We did not control the game against Arsenal; therefore, we gave up a lot of corners.
NAPOLI TAKE THREE-POINT LEAD AFTER CLOSE WIN AGAINST LECCE
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa's header secured a 1-0 win for Napoli over Lecce, moving them top of Serie A. The victory was sealed after Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saved a Francesco Camarda penalty.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa celebrates scoring - Photo Credit: Getty Images
Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa scored another goal to give Napoli a narrow victory over Lecce, although Vanja Milinkovic-Savic also saved a penalty kick from Francesco Camarda.
The thrilling 3-1 victory against Inter put the Partenopei back atop the league, but it came at a price: Kevin De Bruyne will miss several months of action due to a significant thigh strain. Rasmus Hojlund and Amir Rrahmani returned to the bench, but Stanislav Lobotka, Alex Meret, and Romelu Lukaku remained on the treatment table. Leonardo Spinazzola and Scott McTominay were rested, and the 4-3-3 formation was reinstated. Following the 3-2 loss to Udinese, Lecce was without Gaby Jean, Filip Marchwinski, Matias Perez, and Riccardo Sottil.
Billy Gilmour's attempt was deflected wide as Napoli wore their special edition Halloween uniform, but Lorenzo Lucca unintentionally charged down a Matteo Politano strike that was on target.
On the Matias Olivera pull-back, Politano turned over from six yards out, while Medon Berisha also threatened by drilling wide from the area's edge.
Olivera had been put clear by a clever Gilmour first-touch lay-off, but Wladimiro Falcone made a fantastic stop with his legs at the near post.
On the cusp of halftime, Francesco Camarda's chest and half-volley was inches wide, yet it would not have been considered handball.
Moments after the restart, Noa Lang added to the growing list of Napoli players out after hobbling off with a hit to the thigh just above the left knee.
Lucca sprinted onto a long ball that Falcone hurried out to nod clear, and Politano's follow-up was charged down with the goalie off his line, creating a double chance to open the score.
After a VAR review, the Lecce penalty was given because Kialonda Gaspar's header on a corner seemed to hit Juan Jesus' hand, which bent back on impact. Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who has saved five of the past nine Serie A penalties faced, demonstrated his expertise by parrying the spot-kick when Camarda stepped up.
Hojlund made his comeback from injury, with McTominay and Leonardo Spinazzola reinforcing the team off the bench for the final half-hour.
It paid off, as a free kick from David Neres was glanced into the far top corner off the head of Anguissa from six yards out, giving Napoli the lead.
Nikola Stulic was too slow to capitalise on a Danilo Veiga pull-back, Elmas shot wide, and Hojlund missed the Neres assist in stoppages.