Marseille 0-3 Liverpool: Szoboszlai's stunner sees Liverpool slot into top eight

Liverpool moved up to fourth in UCL table with a straightforward 3-0 victory over Olympique de Marseille, extending their unbeaten run to 13 games across all competitions.

Match Report

Roberto De Zerbi’s side welcomed the six-time European Champions to Stade Vélodrome after plundering 14 goals in their previous two games, and would have fancied their chances of more success here after dispatching Newcastle United in November. 

Arne Slot’s team were eager to avoid becoming their second English scalp this season, and came within inches of breaking the deadlock when Alexis Mac Allister drilled a right-footed shot wide of the post. Hugo Ekitike thought he had drawn first blood moments later, but his effort was chalked off for offside after narrowly mistiming his run from Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross. 

Marseille were struggling to find their rhythm going forward, but Mason Greenwood managed to float an enticing free-kick into the box and Amine Gouiri caught the ball very sweetly to force Alisson into a fine two-handed save. However, it was Liverpool who found the breakthrough when Szoboszlai’s free-kick went under Marseille’s jumping wall and beat an outstretched Gerónimo Rulli at his near post. That was the Hungarian’s sixth goal contribution in his last five UCL appearances (G4, A2), and came at the end of a cagey opening 45 minutes. 

De Zerbi would have demanded much more intensity from his players after the break, and Greenwood took matters into his own hands with two quickfire efforts. The first was parried away by Alisson, while the second was deflected narrowly wide. After a sluggish opening 45 minutes, the game opened up very nicely in the second period. Ekitike was agonisingly close to doubling Liverpool’s lead when his shot cannoned off the woodwork from Szoboszlai’s through ball, before Hamed Traorè blazed his strike over the bar at the end of a swift counter-attack.

The Reds were eager to put this game to bed heading into the final 30 minutes of this contest, as Florian Wirtz was denied by Rulli, and Ekitike’s ferocious strike from a tight angle flew over the bar. A second would come in the 72nd minute courtesy of some fine work by Jeremie Frimpong, who outmuscled Igor Paixão and his ball across the face of goal was inadvertently turned home by Rulli. 

Cody Gakpo then added extra gloss to the scoreline with a clinical finish after being played in by Ryan Gravenberch, capping off a fine night’s work for Slot’s men on the Côte d'Azur, and automatic qualification into the round of 16 remains firmly in their sights. Meanwhile, the Phocaeans will hope to nail down a play-off place on matchday eight when they face Club Brugge after succumbing to a fourth consecutive UCL H2H defeat.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

23' Ekitike expertly putting the finishing touch to a lightning-fast counter-attack

28' Good save form Alisson Becker

47' Szoboszlai fires a free-kick under the Marseille wall! Marseille 0-1 Liverpool

52' Good save from Alisson Becker to deny Mason Greenwood from distance

59' Hugo Ekitike blasts against the post

64' Florian Wirtz denied at the near post. Great play again by Liverpool

80' Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo are coming on for Liverpool

Line-ups

Marseille XI: Gerónimo Rulli, Kondogbia, Hojbjerg, Pavard, M. Murillo, Gouiri, Facundo Medina, Timothy Weah, Hamed Traoré, Balerdi, Greenwood

Subs: Aubameyang, Jeffrey de Lange, Angel Gomes, Matt O'Riley, Igor Paixão, CJ Egan-Riley, Jelle Van Neck, Bilal Nadir, Arthur Vermeeren, Darryl Bakola, Tadjidine Mmadi, A. Doubal

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Salah, Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitiké, Milos Kerkez, Wirtz

Subs: Endo, Robertson, Freddie Woodman, Gakpo, Chiesa, Curtis Jones, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha