MATCH REPORT | Bourg-Péronnas 0-6 Marseille: Paixão, Greenwood and Højbjerg lead dominant Coupe de France display | OneFootball

Olympique de Marseille made light work of their Coupe de France opener on Sunday afternoon, cruising past National side Bourg-Péronnas with a commanding 5–0 victory to reach the round of 16 thanks to goals from Leonardo Balerdi, Mason Greenwood, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Igor Paixao, and Bilal Nadir. Tadjine Mmadi then entered the pitch late on and the 18-year-old scored his first-ever senior goal for the club with a finish at the near post.

THE MATCH 

Roberto De Zerbi’s men finished 2025 with a commanding victory over third tier outfit Bourg-Péronnas to reach the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, who pushed Les Olympiens in a tight first period before a rampant second half saw four goals in 30 minutes. OM, mindful of past pitfalls in the competition, delivered a ruthless and controlled second half at the Stade Marcel-Verchère.

Marseille struck early to settle any nerves. From a well-delivered corner by Angel Gomes in the eighth minute, Leonardo Balerdi rose highest to power a header past Mazuy, giving the Ligue 1 side a deserved lead. The opener allowed Marseille to impose their possession-based game, circulating the ball with ease and pinning the hosts deep.

Bourg-Péronnas did have moments of encouragement, largely through Cissé, who twice threatened in behind the Marseille defence. The defining moment came midway through the first half, when the striker squandered a clear chance to equalise, firing over from close range. Marseille remained untroubled thereafter and went into the break firmly in control despite leading by just one goal.

The visitors accelerated after the restart. Mason Greenwood doubled Marseille’s advantage in the 59th minute, finishing calmly into the bottom corner after a sharp one-touch combination involving Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Matt O’Riley. It marked Greenwood’s 15th goal of the season and his third consecutive match on the scoresheet.

Five minutes later, Højbjerg produced the goal of the match, curling a sublime effort into the top corner from outside the area after Igor Paixão’s movement opened space. Bourg-Péronnas quickly unravelled, and Paixão added a fourth, rounding the goalkeeper and finishing confidently following a defensive error.

Marseille continued to press and were rewarded again in the closing stages. Bilal Nadir made it 5–0 in the 77th minute, curling a precise effort from the edge of the area beyond Mazuy, before 18-year-old Tadjidine Mmadi completed the rout late on, cutting inside from the left and firing home his first senior goal for the club in the 87th minute.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Leonardo Balerdi

After two matches on the bench for Les Phocéens, Marseille’s Argentine captain had his starting status pulled into doubt when Roberto De Zerbi publicly criticised his recent performances at a press conference attended by Get French Football News following Marseille’s 1-0 win over Monaco last week. L’Équipe reported in the following week that Balerdi’s relationship had cooled with his manager, before the pair posed in front of the press in training – all smiles and hugging. For the cameras? Potentially. But Balerdi’s return to the starting XI today was certainly reassuring (even if it was due to Nayef Aguerd’s departure to Morocco for AFCON)The Argentine dealt with some difficult moments well in the first period, and rose highest to net early on to score his first goal of the season with Les Olympiens. Balerdi looked more and more confident, serious, and implicated as OM resisted a pushback from today’s hosts – his interceptions and timing were on point, and it allowed De Zerbi’s men to keep the clean sheet and go on to further dominate the game offensively. GFFN | George Boxall