Marseille move into Ligue 1 top three after victory over rock-bottom Metz

[p]A recent dip in form had seen [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/marseille/SblU3Hee/"]Marseille[/a]’s grip on a UEFA Champions League qualification spot slip more and more with each passing week, but a game at home against struggling [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/metz/4v0yqlWc/"]Metz[/a] offered them the opportunity to breathe life back into their campaign. [/p][p]And Les Phocéens got off to the perfect start, taking the lead just before the quarter-hour mark.[/p][p][b]As Metz pushed men forward for a set-piece, they were punished on the counter as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/greenwood-mason/hxe108Jl/"]Mason Greenwood[/a] slipped [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aubameyang-pierre-emerick/Wl4EyKZk/"]Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang[/a] through for the Gabon international to power into the top-left corner despite slipping as he connected with the ball.[/b][/p][embed guid="b76db6d8-46ad-4125-802a-6e63d5a0ba97" url="https://x.com/Ligue1_ENG/status/2042694278317490609" social-type="twitter" /][p]Aubameyang thought he had doubled his tally for the evening with a little more than 30 minutes on the clock, but after racing onto [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/timber-quinten/Ag97KtSd/"]Quinten Timber[/a]’s through ball and rounding [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sy-pape/OADbJzj2/"]Pape Sy[/a] to slot in, his goal was ruled out for a narrow offside call.[/p][p]The hosts were totally dominant throughout the first half, yet Metz almost went into the break with the scores level as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hein-gauthier/06rZTKMc/"]Gauthier Hein[/a]’s effort cannoned off the post.[/p][p]Marseille got off to a flyer once again when play resumed for the second half and doubled their lead in similar circumstances to the opener.[/p][p][b]A Metz corner this time turned into a counterattack for the hosts, with Greenwood once again spearheading the break forward before setting up [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/paixao-igor/EuBBEVVq/"]Igor Paixão[/a] for an exquisite chip over Sy. [/b][/p][embed guid="77872417-f850-4e0b-bdab-24ff7c672ce6" url="https://x.com/Ligue1_ENG/status/2042699843827540270" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Nevertheless, the two-goal lead lasted a little over a minute when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tsitaishvili-giorgi/Qq6pTCV6/"]Giorgi Tsitaishvili[/a] was criminally afforded space in the Marseille box after cutting inside from the right prior to his shot trickling straight through the legs of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rulli-geronimo/rcbM0Dd8/"]Gerónimo Rulli[/a].[/b][/p][p]Habib Beye’s men continued to pour forward in their attempts to secure the points, and Aubameyang was denied from a tight angle before Timber fired narrowly over the bar.[/p][p][b]The third goal finally arrived in stoppage time as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gouiri-amine/K0zFVdU8/"]Amine Gouiri[/a] delivered the ball on a plate for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/traore-hamed/Sr1MZT2U/"]Hamed Traorè[/a] to fire home and help Marseille to claim all three points, though Beye will be concerned with his side’s lack of clinical finishing.[/b][/p][image alt="Match stats" id="e2a7eaf9-1299-4e44-a332-f99b06cc5b8d" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="463af7ae-d524-44f9-a88b-35806a7a4503" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Ultimately, a fourth win since taking over the helm at Marseille keeps them in contention for UCL football next season. Metz, on the other hand, sit eight points off the relegation play-off spot with just five games remaining, and look increasingly likely to drop straight back down to Ligue 2.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/greenwood-mason/hxe108Jl/"]Mason Greenwood[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/marseille/SblU3Hee/"]Olympique de Marseille[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/marseille-SblU3Hee/metz-4v0yqlWc/?mid=ph4SDquo"]Check out all the match stats with Flashscore[/a][/b][/p]