PARIS: Olympique de Marseille climbed to the top of Ligue 1 2025-26 on Saturday with a 3-0 win at Metz, which left coach Roberto De Zerbi purring over his side’s form after four straight wins.
Victory moved Marseille onto 15 points, ahead of champion Paris Saint-Germain and surprise packages Lyon on goal difference, with the latter two still to play this weekend.
Rock bottom Metz parked the bus in the first half, but Marseille poured forwards after the break with Brazilian dynamo Igor Paixao breaking the deadlock on 51 minutes, while Matt O’Riley on 69 minutes and Amine Gouiri two minutes after that secured the three points.
“These are the kind of matches we were losing last year, we’ve matured and the team is much stronger now,” said De Zerbi.
“I’m very happy. This is my best period since I took over Marseille,” the Italian coach, who joined from Brighton in June 2024 and led Marseille to the runner-up spot last season, added.
Marseille had a rocky start to the season with a dressing room fight after an opening day slump, paving the way for star midfielder Adrien Rabiot to be transfer-listed, before joining AC Milan.
De Zerbi described the altercation between Rabiot and English winger Jonathan Rowe, who moved to Bologna, as being like a barroom brawl. Before Saturday’s romp over bottom-side Metz, Marseille beat Ajax 4-0 in the Champions League after wins over PSG and Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
Marseille, which last won the title in 2010, also climbed top briefly last Friday after its 2-1 come-from-behind win at Strasbourg.
Meanwhile, Abdallah Sima scored with virtually the last kick of the match to hand 10-man Lens a 2-1 victory at Auxerre and move the northerners up to fourth.
Lens took an early lead at the Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps through former Crystal Palace forward Odsonne Edouard.
In the day’s other match Brest and Nantes played out a goalless draw. Agencies
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