Olympique Marseille climbed to the top of Ligue 1 with a dominant 3-0 victory over Metz on Saturday. The win, Marseille's fourth straight, sees them move ahead of Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon on goal difference, at least provisionally, as those teams are yet to play their weekend matches.
Marseille's victory was secured through second-half goals from Igor Paixão, Matt O'Riley, and Amine Gouiri. The first half saw a frustrated Marseille side unable to convert their opportunities, with Metz goalkeeper Jonathan Fischer in good form. However, the deadlock was broken in the 51st minute when Paixão's shot, set up by a pass from 18-year-old Robinio Vaz, was deflected into the net. Paixão, who recently joined from Feyenoord, is finding his form, having also scored twice in Marseille's 4-0 Champions League win against Ajax.
Matt O'Riley extended Marseille's lead in the 69th minute, sweeping home a pass from Gouiri. Just two minutes later, Gouiri himself got on the scoresheet, completing a neat one-two with O'Riley before slotting the ball past Fischer.
The match wasn't without incident, as it was briefly halted due to crowd trouble late in the game. Players from both Metz and Marseille intervened to calm the fans, and referee Clément Turpin waited for the situation to resolve before play resumed.
Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance, stating, "I'm very happy because these are the kind of matches we were losing last year. We have matured and the team is much stronger". He also added, "This is my best period since I've been at Marseille, but it's precisely when things are going well that you have to stay on your toes". De Zerbi has a 60% win record with Marseille in Ligue 1 matches, making him the coach with the best record in the club's recent history.
The result leaves Metz at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, still searching for their first win of the season. Marseille, meanwhile, are waiting for their 10th Ligue 1 title, their first since 2010.
In other Ligue 1 results on Saturday, Abdallah Sima's late goal gave Lens a 2-1 win at Auxerre, while Nantes and Brest played out a 0-0 draw. Injury-hit PSG is scheduled to play Lille on Sunday, while Lyon will host Toulouse.
