Amine Gouiri scored twice as Olympique Marseille began their new Ligue 1 chapter in emphatic fashion, defeating 10-man Strasbourg 4-0 at the Stade Vélodrome on Friday.
With Bruno Genesio taking charge of Marseille and Hugo Oliveira leading Strasbourg into a new era, it was the home side who adapted quickest. Inspired by the creativity of Igor Paixao and the clinical finishing of Gouiri, Marseille produced a commanding second-half display to claim their first league victory of the season.
The opening 45 minutes offered little reward for Marseille despite their territorial dominance. Genesio’s side controlled possession and regularly pushed Strasbourg into their own half, but the visitors remained organised enough to keep the contest level at the interval.
That balance disappeared almost immediately after the restart.
Straight from kick-off, Paixao surged down the left wing before picking out Angel Gomes. The England midfielder showed composure to square the ball for Gouiri, who finished from close range to give Marseille the breakthrough inside the opening minute of the second half.
Strasbourg’s task became considerably harder in the 59th minute when Samir Mourabet was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge, leaving Oliveira’s side to play the final half-hour with 10 men.
Marseille capitalised almost instantly.
Just three minutes after the dismissal, Guela Doue brought down the lively Paixao inside the penalty area, and Gouiri calmly converted from the spot to double the advantage with his second goal of the evening.
With Strasbourg stretched and tiring, Marseille continued to press for more. Substitute Keyliane Abdallah added a third in the 89th minute before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg completed the rout deep into stoppage time, capping an impressive opening-night performance at the Vélodrome.
The victory provides an ideal start to Genesio’s tenure and offers early encouragement for Marseille’s ambitions in the new Ligue 1 campaign, while Strasbourg and Oliveira are left searching for positives after a difficult evening on the south coast.
