Marseille ended a poor run of form in emphatic fashion as they recovered from an early setback to beat Angers 5-2 at the Stade Raymond-Kopa.
The result, Marseille’s second consecutive league victory, lifts them to ninth and provides a much-needed response after a difficult start to their Ligue 1 campaign. They had won only once in their previous six matches, while Angers remain 14th after suffering back-to-back defeats.
Marseille began brightly as they looked to build on their recent win. Igor Paixao cut in from the left and went close to scoring his first goal of the season, before Tochukwu Nnadi sent an effort narrowly wide.
However, it was Angers who took the lead in unusual circumstances after 14 minutes. Amine Sbai created the opening with a skilful run down the left, turning past his marker before delivering a dangerous cross.
Geoffrey Kondogbia attempted to clear the ball with a header, but instead directed it into Lilian Raolisoa’s face from close range. The ball then slowly crossed the line to give the hosts an unexpected advantage.
Marseille struggled to recover their early momentum immediately, but they turned the match around shortly before half-time.
Timothy Weah, who had already made several important contributions in defence, supplied the cross for the equaliser. Himad Abdelli met it with a powerful header to score against his former club.
The visitors completed the turnaround before the interval when Nouhoum Kamissoko rose highest to meet Emerson’s corner and head Marseille into a 2-1 lead.
Marseille extended their advantage shortly before the hour mark through Amine Gouiri. The Algeria striker had won a penalty after driving into the Angers area, but Anthony Lopes saved his initial spot-kick.
Gouiri reacted quickest to the rebound, putting the ball into the net and giving the visitors a two-goal cushion.
Angers were offered a route back into the contest with 15 minutes remaining. Carlens Arcus was pulled to the ground during a corner, and Amine El Ouazzani converted the resulting penalty calmly past Jeffrey de Lange.
The hosts’ hopes of completing a comeback lasted only briefly. Amine Harit produced a fine curling finish before Igor Paixao added another composed effort of the same type to complete a convincing Marseille victory.
The result represents a significant step towards stabilising Marseille’s season, with consecutive wins moving them up to ninth. Angers could still fall into the bottom three by the end of the day, depending on results elsewhere.
Flashscore player of the match: Timothy Weah (Marseille)
