Paris Brunner scored twice as Monaco beat Marseille 2-0 at Stade Louis-II to make it two wins from two in Ligue 1 and move to the top of the table.
It is the third time in the past four seasons that Monaco have won their opening two league matches. They are the only side in the division with a 100% record after two games.
Both teams had won on the opening weekend, giving Filipe Luis and Bruno Genesio victories in their first league matches in charge of their respective clubs. However, it was Luis’ Monaco side who controlled the contest in front of a subdued home crowd.
Brunner opened the scoring when he rose above the Marseille defence to meet Aleksandr Golovin’s cross from the right. The Germany Under-21 international directed a powerful header beyond Jeffrey de Lange and gave Monaco the advantage.
The forward came close to doubling the lead shortly afterwards. His first effort from close range was not cleanly struck, but he tested de Lange with the follow-up, forcing the goalkeeper into a save.
Marseille, who had lost five of their previous seven Ligue 1 away matches, struggled to create a sustained attacking threat. Amine Harit attempted to change the pattern with a long-range effort that drifted wide.
Harit then played an important role in another promising attack, setting up Angel Gomes for a shot which took a deflection and went over the crossbar.
The visiting side thought they may have had a penalty before the interval when Harit went down inside the area with Sadibou Sane nearby. Referee Willy Delajod dismissed the appeals.
Marseille started the second half positively, with substitute Keyliane Abdallah and Gomes both going close soon after the restart. But Monaco extended their lead through another outstanding moment from Brunner.
The German forward collected Eric Dier’s long pass, turned away from Geoffrey Kondogbia and escaped the defender again before getting past CJ Egan-Riley. He then completed a fine solo move by placing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Kondogbia appeared to be in discomfort after the goal and was replaced soon afterwards with what looked to be a hamstring injury.
Monaco continued to push for a third. Golovin tried to lift the ball over de Lange, but the goalkeeper prevented him from scoring. De Lange was called into action again when he stopped Stanis Idumbo’s effort at his near post.
Marseille offered little in response and were unable to reproduce the attacking quality shown in their 4-0 victory over Strasbourg nine days earlier. Amine Gouiri, who scored twice in that match, had one of the visitors’ few openings, but his close-range attempt was blocked.
The defeat means Marseille have suffered consecutive league losses against Monaco for the first time since August 2017.
It was also an injury-hit night for Genesio’s team, with Tochukwu Nnadi and Gomes joining Kondogbia in being forced off.
Paris Brunner was named Flashscore Man of the Match for Monaco. Match statistics are available through Flashscore.
