Stade Brestois 29 1-5 Olympique de Marseille: Marseille hammer hosts in five-star showing

The Roberto De Zerbi era commenced splendidly for Marseille, who decisively defeated Brest 5-1, marking their fifth consecutive victory on the opening day of Ligue 1. Both Mason Greenwood and Luis Enrique contributed significantly, each scoring twice.

With no commitments to European competitions this season, Marseille's sole focus is on the league and regaining their place on the continental stage. They made an ideal start just three minutes into the match when Amine Harit set up new signing Mason Greenwood on the right flank. The former Manchester United player advanced towards the goal and expertly placed his shot into the far corner.

This season opener was action-packed from the outset, as Brest was soon presented with an opportunity to respond when Ludovic Ajorque was brought down in the penalty area. Unfortunately for Brest, Romain Del Castillo's penalty was saved by Geronimo Rulli.

That missed opportunity proved even more significant midway through the first half when Marseille extended their lead. Harit was again the architect, delivering a clever flick that fell to Luis Henrique, who confidently scored from ten yards out, marking his first goal since March.

While it was always a daunting task for Brest to recover from a two-goal deficit, overcoming three seemed nearly impossible. However, that was their challenge after thirty minutes, when Greenwood converted a penalty, sending the ball into the left corner and leaving the Brest goalkeeper with no chance.

At that moment, Brest appeared to be out of contention, but just before halftime, Mahdi Camara's long-range effort, following some skillful attacking play, provided them with a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately for them, those hopes were quickly dashed shortly after the second half began, as Henrique scored again.

A misdirected clearance from Greenwood's cross fell perfectly for the Brazilian, who made no mistake in adding to his tally from within the penalty area.

This clearly deflated Brest's momentum, leading them to make another critical error shortly thereafter when Jordan Amavi fouled Greenwood in the penalty area.

Although Marseille had two players on the verge of completing hat-tricks, Elye Wahi stepped up to take the penalty. At that moment, De Zerbi’s team appeared to respond to Brest’s desperate situation, easing off their intensity as the victory was secured.

While Le Phoceens will relish this outcome, which likely positions them at the top of Ligue 1 heading into the following week, it marks yet another setback for Brest, whose streak of home league matches without a win has now reached a troubling four games.