Mason Greenwood scored twice on his Marseille debut on Saturday as Roberto De Zerbi’s new-look side won 5-1 at Brest in their opening game of the Ligue 1 season.
Former Manchester United forward Greenwood struck inside three minutes and added another goal from the penalty spot on the half-hour after Luis Henrique had doubled Marseille’s lead. Luis Henrique netted again after Mahdi Camara’s crunching effort pulled it back to 3-1 before half-time, with Greenwood also involved in both of the Brazilian’s goals.
Greenwood won a second penalty after going down under a challenge from Jordan Amavi, but it was another of Marseille’s new signings Elye Wahi who tucked it away. The 22-year-old Greenwood arrived last month from Old Trafford, where his career began in promising fashion before he was suspended in January 2022 following allegations of attempted rape and sexual assault.
Prosecutors dropped charges in February 2023 and he went on to spend last season in Spain at Getafe. But still, Marseille fans, including the city’s left-wing mayor Benoit Payan, have condemned the signing of Greenwood. He was one of five new faces in the Marseille line-up, joining Argentine goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, Canada defender Derek Cornelius, Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and Wahi who was signed from Lens on Tuesday.
Rulli, an unused member of Argentina’s triumphant 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America squads, also had a debut to remember, saving an early spot-kick from Romain Del Castillo following his move from Ajax last weekend. Former Brighton boss De Zerbi took over Marseille in June after a chaotic past season at the Velodrome, promising sweeping changes after a campaign in which the club got through three coaches and failed to qualify for Europe.
Brest’s third-place finish last term was easily the best in club history, but a number of key players have since left with others missing through injury or suspension, and it was a worrying start for the Champions League newcomers.
PSG begin post-Mbappe era with win at Le Havre
On Friday night, Paris Saint-Germain began their title defence with a 4-1 win at Le Havre in their first game since the departure of talisman Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid.
Lee Kang-in gave PSG an early lead only for Gautier Lloris to equalise, but late goals by Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and a Randal Kolo Muani penalty sealed the victory for the reigning French champions.
It was a comfortable win in the end for Luis Enrique’s team, with their substitutes ultimately making the difference as PSG’s strength in depth proved too much for a team who only just avoided relegation last season. “It is the first game back and it’s a very good start,” said PSG’s Spanish coach.
The French international trio of Kolo Muani, Dembele and Barcola all began the game on the bench, while Portugal midfielder Joao Neves came on at half-time for his debut after joining from Benfica for a fee that could reach 69.9mn including bonuses.
Yet Le Havre will wonder what might have been had a Josue Casimir goal – which would have put them in front early in the second half – not been disallowed by VAR for a handball. “We had highs and lows, but the substitutes did a lot of good for us,” added Enrique. “The final score disguises the fact that there are things to improve upon. We gave away lots of easy balls and had we gone 2-1 down that might have changed everything.”
PSG have not made any marquee signings to fill the enormous void left by Mbappe, who departed for Madrid in June after scoring 44 goals last season and registering a club-record 256 across his seven years at the club. It remains to be seen if Enrique’s team can repeat their performances of the last campaign, when they swept all the domestic honours and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Spanish coach was without several regulars here, with left-back Nuno Mendes suspended while Fabian Ruiz is not yet ready to return after helping Spain win Euro 2024. There was a debut on the left wing for Ibrahim Mbaye, who is only 16 and was one of three teenagers in PSG’s starting line-up alongside Yoram Zague and Warren Zaire-Emery, both 18.
