PLAYER RATINGS | Le Havre 1-3 Marseille: Amine Gouiri and Mason Greenwood secure Champions League qualification | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 33, 10/05/25

Olympique de Marseille travelled to Stade Océane to face Le Havre AC in the penultimate game of the Ligue 1 season. In a turbulent match that was delayed by crowd trouble, Roberto De Zerbi’s squad secured Champions League football with a 3-1 win.

The Match

The visitors came close to opening the scoring twice in the first ten minutes of the match. The prolific Amine Gouiri, who has netted four in his last two games (and 11 in total since joining from January), missed from close range, while Adrien Rabiot connected with a Mason Greenwood cross, heading past Mathieu Gorgelin but hitting the crossbar.

Le Havre were not cowed by the occasion and looked to win the ball high up the pitch, forcing Marseille into several mistakes on the ball. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg looked unsettled in the early exchanges and was thankful that Junior Mwanga’s interception in a dangerous area led only to Josué Casimir’s shot being deflected high over the bar.

Marseille’s English wingers, Greenwood and Jonathan Rowe, were lively throughout the first half without causing too many problems. Rowe was engaged in an ongoing battle with Loïc Nego (with the fullback lucky not to be booked after several strong challenges), while Greenwood had a goal on his mind, shooting frequently but without success.

Early into the second half, Négo finally received his yellow card after Rowe looked to break free towards the box. A strong sliding tackle took out the former Norwich man, leading to a free kick in a favourable position, but Greenwood could only send the resulting free kick into the wall.

The pressure was building on Le Havre, and it was only a matter of time before Marseille opened the scoring. Højbjerg picked out Gouiri’s run past the Le Havre backline. The Algerian international swept forward, capitalising on Arouna Sangante’s missed kick to go one-on-one with Gorgelin, and curling his effort past the keeper.

The game would be paused midway through the second half after an altercation between the Marseille substitutes and the Le Havre fans, with some supporters exiting the stands to come onto the pitch. The referee followed protocol, leading the teams off the pitch, while some of the Le Havre team remained as they tried to calm their fans.

Game on

After a half an hour break, we were back on. The disturbance seemed to crack this game wide open as Marseille came close to doubling their lead through a volleyed effort from Balerdi off a Greenwood corner, before Le Havre equalised. Casimir’s cross found Issa Soumaré, who threw himself bravely at the shot.

Le Havre looked to be in the ascendancy as the game ticked towards the end. It would take a moment of individual brilliance for Marseille to take back the lead, as Greenwood collected the ball on the edge of the box. The winger shifted wide and then struck a speculative curling shot past Gorgelin.

The hosts still had a chance to equalise late into the game as a defensive mix-up between Balerdi and the Marseille substitute, Luiz Felipe, opened up a shooting opportunity for Soumaré. However, his effort was smothered by Gerónimo Rulli, the rebound fell to Mwanga, and then to Négo, who could only blast over.

However, with the last kick of the game, Gouiri beat Sangante to poke home the winner. Marseille had done enough. Results elsewhere meant that a 3-1 victory would secure the club’s place in next season’s Champions League with a five-point cushion between them and OGC Nice in fourth, with only one game remaining.

Marseille Player Ratings

Geronimo Rulli – 5

Ulisses Garcia – 5

Replaced by Quentin Merlin after the disturbance.

Derek Cornelius – 6

Leonardo Balerdi – 5

Amir Murillo – 5

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 6

A couple of ropey moments in the first half, where he was caught out in possession, but ultimately these moments went unpunished. The midfielder was far more assured as the game went on and was crucial in unlocking the Le Havre defence to give Marseille the opening goal.

Valentin Rongier – 6

Jonathan Rowe – 7

It was a good game for the Englishman as he was provided a rare start. He was lively throughout the match and provided this energetic forward thrust that helped create some danger to the Marseille attack. He was replaced by Luis Henrique shortly before the disturbance.

Adrien Rabiot – 7

Mason Greenwood – 8

The former Manchester United man had dangerous moments throughout the game. He tested Mathieu Gorgelin during the first half.  However, his match will be defined by the moment when he looked to confirm Marseille’s place in next season’s Champions League. Replaced by Luiz Felipe late into the game.

Amine Gouiri – 8

Le Havre Selected Player Ratings

Arouna Sangante – 3

Jossué Casimir – 6

Issa Soumaré – 5

GFFN | Nick Hartland