PLAYER RATINGS | Marseille 0-3 Liverpool – De Zerbi’s side underwhelm as Reds secure professional win

Olympique de Marseille were well beaten by Liverpool on Wednesday evening as goals from Szoboszlai, Frimpong, and Gakpo sinked the hosts on a night were Roberto De Zerbi’s men ultimately underwhelmed.

The musical theme to the pre-match tifos gave a flavour of the musical influences both cities have had on their respective countries, as the Beatles were depicted by the Virage Sud and Marseille’s IAM in the Virage Nord. The two styles on the pitch were similar, but the efficiency and the implementation saw two different outcomes.

Both sides played each other into a stalemate in the opening minutes: The most clear-cut chance early on was from Alexis Mac Allister, who was fed into the box by Ekitike but dragged his shot wide of the mark. It was the former PSG man that thought he opened the scoring for the Reds only minutes later, when Geoffrey Kondogbia lost the ball in midfield and Mohamed Salah was sent reeling down the right wing before sliding a ball across to Ekitike to finish. Yet VAR intervened quickly to rule the goal offside.

Les Olympiens found it hard to play out the back, a double pivot composed of Højbjerg and Kondogbia was finding it hard to break Liverpool’s organised midfield off the ball. A tetchy and slow first period saw Les Marseillais go behind just before the half-time whistle. A needless foul on the edge of the box by Balerdi saw Liverpool given a freekick, and it was Szoboszlai who rolled home under the wall to open the scoring for the Reds (45 ‘+1).

The second half saw Les Olympiens come out with attacking intent, and Mason Greenwood let off some shots from the edge of the box. But Liverpool found pockets of space to exploit and it saw a huge opportunity for Ekitike to double the away side’s lead after some clever play with Wirtz – yet the Frenchman’s strike would rattle Rulli’s right post. OM immediately counter-attacked, and Greenwood found Hamad Traoré one-on-one but the Ivorian’s strike was blasted over the crossbar. Rulli then had to be on his guard as he saved from Wirtz’s low strike from the left of the box.

De Zerbi then decided to roll the dice with a triple change that introduced Paixao, Aubameyang and Nadir. But just as the extra injection of energy was starting to hit, Liverpool would double their lead. It was a multitude of errors, and a certain amount of passivity which saw Frimpong bear down into the box and to the byline. Igor Paixao tracks back but the Dutchman easily skipped away from the Brazilian, and rolls the ball to the back post: a contact off Rulli’s heel diverts the ball into the back of the net (71′).

If that goal killed off any hope of a comeback from Les Marseillais, Cody Gakpo would compound their misery, breaking down the left side and unleashing a deadly finish past Rulli. De Zerbi out-thought, Marseille out-played, Liverpool deserved the three points and OM will have to go to Belgium to face Bruges to try and egde closer to qualification. As always with, tomorrow never knows which OM will turn up…

OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE PLAYER RATINGS

Geronimo Rulli – 3

The Argentine made an impressive save off Florian Wirtz in the second period, but he could count himself unlucky as he couldn’t scamper across for Szoboszlai’s freekick. The own-goal was avoidable, but a few inches to the left and he makes the save – those are the fine margins at this level.

Benjamin Pavard – 4

Leonardo Balerdi – 4

Despite a promising start from the OM captain, it was his foul on the edge of the box which led to Liverpool’s opening goal just before the end of the first half. Otherwise he defended and organised his backline well, but his passing out from the back left something to desire.

Facundo Medina – 4

Michael Amir Murillo – 4

The Panamanian was asked to fill in for the late absence of Emerson Palmieri, and deputised well, leaving a little to be desired for his attacking contribution.

Timothy Weah – 5

The American was one of the focal attacking forces for Les Olympiens against Angers but he failed to replicate that level against Premier League opposition. He had glimpses of quality, but it was nowhere near enough.

Geoffrey Kondogbia – 4

He was included in the starting XI by De Zerbi for his physicality, but he couldn’t quite get it together in terms of his passing play to be able to form an effective partnership with Højbjerg.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 4

Hamad Junior Traoré – 4

Mason Greenwood – 5

Started the match in a no.10 where he hasn’t been as effective this season, but he made some interesting runs in the first period without testing Allisson too much. This was obviously something De Zerbi addressed at half time as he found himself in wider positions on the right and immediately started letting off shots early in the second half. As Liverpool grabbed the second, his body language faltered – it was game over.

Amine Gouiri – 4

SELECTED LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS

Hugo Ekitike – 6

Mohamed Salah – 5

Alexis Mac Allister – 6

GFFN | George Boxall – reporting from the Stade Vélodrome