PARIS: Mason Gree­nwood scored twice on his Olympique de Marseille debut in a 5-1 rout of Brest in Ligue 1 on Saturday, while Lille made a winning start despite a frightening head injury sustained by Angel Gomes.

Former Manchester United forward Greenwood struck inside three minutes and added another goal from the penalty spot on the half-hour after Luis Henrique had doubled the lead for Marseille.

Luis Henrique netted again after Mahdi Camara’s crunching effort pulled it back to 3-1 before half-time, with Greenwood also involved in both of the Brazilian’s goals.

Greenwood won a second penalty after going down under a challenge from Jordan Amavi, but it was another of Marseille’s new signings Elye Wahi who tucked it away to a cap a strong display from Roberto De Zerbi’s new-look side.

The 22-year-old Green­wood was one of five new faces in the Marseille line-up, joining Argentine goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, Canada defender Derek Cornelius, Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojb­jerg, and Wahi who was signed from RC Lens on Tuesday.

Rulli also had a debut to remember, saving an early spot-kick from Romain Del Castillo following his move from Ajax last weekend.

Former Brighton boss De Zerbi took over Marseille in June after a chaotic past season at the Velodrome, promising sweeping chan­ges after a campaign in which the club got through three coaches and failed to qualify for Europe.

“I’m very happy with everything. I’m very pleased with the result and the attitude of the team,” said De Zerbi.

“I don’t know if we’re really good and I don’t know where we’ll come, but people must be sure that this is a group of hard-working players, which is important.”

Brest’s third-place finish last term was easily the best in club history, but a number of key players have since left with others missing through injury or suspension, and it was a worrying start for the Champions League newcomers.

“We’re certainly going to have to rethink things if we want to get a good result at Lens,” said Brest coach Eric Roy.

“You can go down heavily as we did today... what’s important is to know a bit about this team’s ability to react.”

In Saturday’s other fixture, Lille regrouped after Gomes was knocked unconscious by a clash of heads, beating Reims 2-0 following a lengthy stoppage while the stricken midfielder received treatment.

The 23-year-old Gomes was left motionless lying on his back after a collision with Reims midfielder Amadou Kone, who was sent off as a result of the challenge.

Players from both sides immediately called for the medical staff before the ex-England Under-21 international was eventually stret­c­hered off and taken to hospital.

“Angel Gomes is doing pretty well, but we’ll wait to find out how he spends the night, with his additional tests, before saying that we have a definitive ‘happy ending’,” club president Olivier Letang said said after the match.

Bafode Diakite put Lille ahead towards the end of 34 minutes of added time in the first half and Jonathan David sealed victory late on for a team that will face Slavia Prague in the Champions League play-offs.

Elsewhere, AS Monaco, last season’s runners-up, beat promoted Saint-Etienne 1-0 courtesy of a Takumi Minamino goal.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2024