PLAYER RATINGS | Nantes 1-2 Marseille: Jonathan Rowe and Mason Greenwood star as OM rise to second in Ligue 1 | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 10, 03/11/24

Olympique de Marseille returned to winning ways as a Mason Greenwood strike in the second half secured victory for Roberto De Zerbi’s side against FC Nantes (2-1), whose winless run continues.

The Match

Looking to bounce back from last weekend’s humbling in the Classique against Paris Saint-Germain, there was a raft of changes made by Marseille – some enforced, others not. The changes that were made were quickly rewarded. Jonathan Rowe and Neal Maupay, who came in for Elye Wahi and Luis Henrique, combined for the opener, with the former feeding the latter with a perfect cross. All Maupay had to do was get a touch to divert it into the empty net.

Mostafa Mohamed headed against his own bar as OM almost doubled their advantage, but whilst Les Phocéens were dominant, they struggled to create clear-cut chances. And that is why, despite having 79% possession in the first half, they went in level. Happy to be direct and hit on the break, Nantes equalised through Tino Kadewere, who expertly volleyed Marcus Coco’s volley past Geronimo Rulli and into the bottom corner.

OM continued to dominate possession in the second half but they were more incisive. Rowe continued to cause issues down the left but it was his compatriot on the opposite wing that got the goal, as Greenwood beat Alban Lafont with a driven effort from outside the box, which clipped off the inside of the post on its way in.

Les Canaris had two quick-fire chances to hit back. The first came through Mostafa Mohamed, whose flicked finish was met with an instinctive save from Geronimo Rulli. The second was missed by Kadewere, who couldn’t keep his cool after having dispossessed Geoffrey Kondogbia. One-on-one, he blasted way over.

Adrien Rabiot almost gave Marseille some breathing room when he hit the inside of the post, and it was a nervy ending for OM, who had to endure 10 minutes of added time, but endure it they did as they return to within six points of PSG and go level with AS Monaco. After a positive start to the season, Nantes are now without a win in their last seven games; Antoine Kombouaré’s side have lost four in that time.

Marseille player ratings

Geronimo Rulli – 6

Quentin Merlin – 4

Geoffrey Kondogbia – 3

The question of why Kondogbia finds himself at centre-back, a position in which he looks completely uncomfortable can now be reasonably posed. He struggled both in and out of possession, letting Kadewere go inside the box to equalise before then being dispossessed by the same striker in the second half. It was only a lack of composure from Kadewere that allowed Les Phocéens to retain their advantage.

Leonardo Balerdi – 6

Pol Lirola – 5

Adrien Rabiot – 5

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg –  4

Jonathan Rowe – 7

It was his inch-perfect cross that allowed OM to take the lead. On a technical level, he has already shown himself to be one of the most gifted players in the team, if not in the whole of Ligue 1, but he also needs to know when to release the ball. Guilty of playing for himself on numerous occasions, there is room for improvement, even if he made an undeniably positive impact on this game from an OM point of view.

Ismael Koné – 4

Mason Greenwood – 8

Criticised for his recent performances, Greenwood responded against Nantes. He was close to setting up Rowe early on in the first half as he quickly showed his intent before then getting the winner midway through the second half. Alongside compatriot Rowe on the opposite flank, it was his contribution that determined the result.

Neal Maupay – 6

Nantes selected player ratings

Tino Kadewere – 6

By far and away the best outfield player for Les Canaris. He was extremely efficient with the little service he received. He took his first chance expertly to level the scores but was then guilty of a lack of composure midway through the second half as he blasted over after his own good work saw him win the ball back deep in OM’s half.

Alban Lafont – 7

Moses Simon – 2

Between spending much of the game marginally offside and squandering some glorious chances in transition, it wasn’t Simon’s night. At his effective best, he could have had his say on the result of this match.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle