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Roberto De Zerbi avoided defeat in his competitive home debut as Olympique de Marseille saw out a fiery Stade de Reims in a gripping 2-2 draw at the Stade Vélodrome, with the two teams sharing a point apiece for the first time in six head-to-head encounters. A 10-man Stade de Reims suffered defeat to Lille on the opening match day, while Marseille routed Brest with a stunning five-star performance.
The hosts carried their momentum against the Grand Est outfit, breaking the deadlock midway through the half when Amine Harit sublimely tucked in a first-time finish into the bottom right corner after picking up Quentin Merlin’s pinpoint pass from the left wing. With only one clean sheet in their last 22 top-flight away games, it was no surprise to see Reims stumble again, barely escaping Marseille’s relentless attacks.
Elye Wahi squandered a handful of golden opportunities from point-blank range before half time, his finishing lacking conviction as Reims' shot-stopper Yehvann Diouf rose to the occasion with a series of outstanding saves along with defender Joseph Okumu pulling off a fantastic goal-line clearance to frustrate the home faithful. As it happens so often in the beautiful game, Marseille were made to pay for their earlier misses with Reims turning the game on its head immediately after the restart. Latching onto a rebound, Sergio Akieme first unleashed an unstoppable edge-of-the-box shot into the near post, before Yaya-Kader Fofana’s sublime solo effort stunned Stade Vélodrome.
In his first Ligue 1 start, the Ivory Coast native took out Marseille’s entire right wing, before wrong footing Leonardo Balerdi to smash his side’s second past Gerónimo Rulli from the tightest of angles. Rallied by the home crowd, Marseille then struck the woodwork via Jonathan Rowe, but eventually found the back of the net thanks to another Englishman. Mason Greenwood pounced to head from close range after Diouf parried Quentin Merlin’s effort.
It was all set up for a thrilling finale with over a quarter-hour remaining, but neither side managed to net the winner and claim victory as the fixtures resulted in the points being shared for the first time since December 2021. The draw means Marseille taste their season’s first setback, while Luka Elser will be proud of Reims’ second-half display despite their ongoing search for a first league win this season.
