Marseille secured a hard-fought 3-2 win against Montpellier HSC to start their Ligue 1 season. It was a dramatic turnaround at the Mosson stadium, as Marseille fought back from a two-goal deficit to claim the win. The atmosphere turned volatile toward the end of the match, leading to a temporary stoppage when frustrated fans began throwing bottles onto the field because their team was trailing in the final minutes.
Marseille celebrated a 3-2 win against Montpellier HSC in their French Ligue 1 opener. Marseille came back from two goals down to win the match at the Mosson stadium. The game was held up for some time when the fans attacked the field with bottles. Frustrated fans started to throw the bottles as their team was one goal down in the final minutes of the game.
The tension at Stade Mosson boiled over in the 89th minute when a bottle hit Marseille's Valentin Rongier in the head, forcing a halt to the action. Referee Jeremie Pignard stepped in, escorting the players off the pitch to avoid further conflict while the crowd was calmed down. The match eventually restarted after a 10-minute break, though not before Montpellier's Florent Mollet was also targeted by fans while lining up for a corner kick.
For the first time in seven months, the game was played in front of a crowd of 13,500, ending the era of closed-door matches mandated by the pandemic. Throughout the match, Marseille dominated the tempo with superior ball possession and precise distribution. Their dominance was reflected in the stats, as they managed seven shots on target while restricting Montpellier to just one.
Montpellier took an early lead in the 30th minute via an unfortunate own goal by Luan Perez. Shortly after, Gaetan Laborde capitalized on a pass from Nicolas Cozza, firing a shot from the right side of the penalty area into the left corner. Laborde then doubled his tally just four minutes later, putting Montpellier up 2-0 before the halftime whistle.
Despite their dominance, Marseille struggled to convert their chances into goals during the first half. They shifted to a more aggressive, attacking approach after the break, which finally paid off in the 67th minute. Turkish winger Cengiz Under found the net after receiving a well-placed assist from Konrad De la Fuente, slotting a left-footed shot home from the six-yard box.
Marseille kept the pressure on, and in the 75th minute, Dimitri Payet leveled the score with a precise free kick. Payet then sealed the 3-2 victory just five minutes later, finishing a brilliant pass from Pape Gueye that found him inside the box, sending the ball into the right corner of the net. With this win, Olympique de Marseille starts the 2021 Ligue 1 season on a high note before they face Bordeaux on August 16th.