PLAYER RATINGS | Marseille 3-2 Toulouse: Greenwood & Rabiot on target as OM rise back to second | OneFootball

Marseille get back to winning ways and move back up to second place after facing off a tough Toulouse side at the Vélodrome.THE MATCHThere was a palpable sense of tension at the Vélodrome on Sunday evening: a volcanic atmosphere which welcoming Marseille’s players – who knew the necessity of a result against Toulouse. Les Olympiens needed to get back to winning ways against Toulouse if they wanted to make good on their aspirations of securing a Champions League spot. Roberto De Zerbi’s side did enough to turn around a series of three defeats in a row, and restore hope in their aim of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League by the end of the season. The pressure seemed to be relieved early on when Adrien Rabiot’s wicked cross was finished into the back of the Toulouse net by Les Violet’s own defender Gabriel Suazo with a stunning finish into his own net (20′).

Whilst Les Olympiens started brightly, Toulouse would manage to calm down the volcanic atmosphere at the Velodrome and take advantage of OM’s lack of killer edge. After a first real prolonged period of possession. Vincent Sierro would provide a superb chipped ball for Frank Magri to simply rise high and nod past Rulli to equalise for Les Violets, chilling the atmosphere (28′) and heaping the pressure onto the second period for Les Olympiens.

But some teams and clubs seem to thrive the most under pressure, and that was certainly the case for Marseille this evening. After struggling to have an impact on the game in the first period, Mason Greenwood seemingly popped up out of nowhere with a stunning strike from the edge of the box to put Les Marseillais back into the lead (56′).

After one stunner, then quickly came another as OM managed to go two goals in front thanks to a stunning volley from the centre of the box by Adrien Rabiot, who connected perfectly with a deft chip from Mason Greenwood (73′). Les Olympiens looked free from the shackles of their bad form going into the game, and proceeded to confidently start to pass the ball around in the way that we know De Zerbi teams do. OM then thought they had another when Jonathan Rowe headed a fine diving header, which was then ruled out by VAR for offside.

But Toulouse wouldn’t go down that easily. Captain Vincent Sierro would add to his assist with a fine header from a floated freekick in the box – as the OM defence once again fell asleep (75′). But OM would see out the remaining 15 minutes of the game to seal a vital win at the Vélodrome which puts Les Olympiens back into second place, two points ahead of Monaco before their showdown at the Stade Louis II next weekend.OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE PLAYER RATINGS

Geronimo Rulli – 5

Amir Murillo – 4

Derek Cornelius – 4

Geoffrey Kondogbia – 5

Luis Henrique – 4

Ismael Bennacer – 6

Valentin Rongier – 5

Quentin Merlin – 4

Mason Greenwood – 5

A mirror image of his performances over the two months for Les Olympiens in the first half, the Englishman had a really tough time getting into attacking spaces and involved on the ball. He was frankly a ghostly figure in the first half, but provided a moment of magic when he received the ball on the edge of the box and thrashed it into the back of the net from range. A superb finish, and a potential boost of confidence ahead of a vital trip to Monaco next weekend.

Adrien Rabiot – 7

Rabiot – after his comments last week aimed at his teammates about desire – showed himself to be the leader by example on the pitch against Toulouse. He provided a lovely cross for Suazo to poke into the back of his own net, and provided the most deadly attacking threat for his side in the 90 minutes. He topped off his performance with a stunning finish on the volley to give OM some breathing space in the second half.

Neal Maupay – 5TOULOUSE PLAYER RATINGSGuillaume Restes – 5

Charlie Cresswell – 5

Djbril Sidibé – 5

Gabriel Suazo – 4

Vincent Sierro – 6

An all-round commanding performance for the Toulouse captain, who was organised in midfield and provided a stunning chipped cross for Frank Magri’s equaliser in the first period. Despite TFC’s struggles in the second period, his header made sure there was an uncomfortable ending at the Vélodrome.

Cristian Cásseres Jr. – 5

Shavy Babicka – 5

Yann Gboho – 5

Frank Magri – 6

Aron Dønnum – 6

GFFN | George Boxall – Reporting from Stade Vélodrome, Marseille