A Mason Greenwood penalty in the 89th minute handed Marseille a 2-1 victory over Monaco and sent them into second place in Ligue 1 on Sunday, while Alexandre Lacazette netted a hat-trick as Lyon beat rivals Nice 4-1. Earlier, Lille passed up the opportunity to move provisionally into third place in Ligue 1 after conceding a late equaliser to bottom side Montpellier. After leaders Paris Saint-Germain drew on Saturday, it was the chance for the second- and third-placed sides to close the gap to the top.

And it was Marseille who took that chance with their slender win leapfrogging them above Monaco into second place on goal difference, the pair are tied on 26 points — seven behind PSG.

Aleksandr Golovin made the breakthrough for Monaco four minutes before half-time with a deflected finish.

But Marseille struck back in the 53rd minute through Luis Henrique.

A half-blocked cross appeared to be going behind but spun on the line to stay in at the near post and Neal Maupay reacted quickly to nod it across the goalmouth, where the Brazilian was on hand to head in his sixth goal of the season.

The decisive moment then came in the 87th minute when the referee adjudged that Monaco’s Christian Mawissa had blocked a cross with his hand.

Greenwood duly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to seal the comeback win for Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

In Lyon, Lacazette scored twice in the first half, before putting the cherry on top for the home side with a 69th-minute penalty.

Sofiane Diop had equalised for Nice midway through the first period, before Lacazette and Jordan Veretout struck to open up a two-goal buffer by the interval.

Lyon move up to 22 points, two ahead of Nice in sixth place and one behind fourth-placed Lille.

Lacazette sent his side ahead on four minutes, poking home a cross at full stretch.

Nice hit back in the 22nd minute as Diop did well to reach Mohamed-Ali Cho’s back-post cross.

Lacazette and Veretout scored in the 41st and 43rd minutes to restore Lyon’s lead, before the former Arsenal forward made the points safe with a second-half spot-kick.

“This victory is good for us and rounds off a great week,” said Lacazette, after Lyon also won by the same scoreline against Azeri side Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday.

‘Anything is possible’

Earlier, Jonathan David twice gave Lille the lead from the penalty spot in either half but Issiaga Sylla struck in first-half injury time and Arnaud Nordin then found a 93rd-minute leveller for Montpellier as the points were shared in a 2-2 draw.

“We offered far too little to be more dangerous (in the second half), to create more situations for ourselves and to put ourselves in the clear,” said Lille coach Bruno Genesio.

“We know that in this kind of match, anything is possible right up to the end.”

Lille sit three points behind third-placed Monaco, while Montpellier stay rooted to the foot of the table, five points from safety.

Canadian attacker David broke the deadlock in the 44th minute as he sent Benjamin Lecomte the wrong way from 12 yards.

The lead only lasted three minutes with Sylla rising highest to glance home a corner on the stroke of half-time.

David restored Lille’s lead from the spot nine minutes into the second half and the visitors appeared set to win until the third minute of stoppage time.

Lille failed to clear the danger from a cross and after ping-ponging around the box, the ball landed for Nordin who finished gleefully from close range.

Montpellier forward Tanguy Coulibaly was sent off in the 99th minute for firing the ball at Genesio after a foul was given against the Frenchman.

In the chaotic aftermath of the incident, Lille substitute Mitchel Bakker was also given his marching orders.

Eighth-placed Auxerre went down 2-0 at Toulouse thanks to two goals in seven first-half minutes from Joshua King and a Vincent Sierro penalty.

Angers took an invaluable three points in the relegation battle with a 1-0 win against Le Havre, who dropped into 16th spot.

Two goals in the space of a minute by former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood provided the fuel for Marseille to burn off Toulouse 3-1 on Saturday and climb to the top of Ligue 1. The 22-year-old Greenwood, who scored twice on his Marseille debut against Brest a fortnight ago and once against Reims last week, pounced in the 16th minute in Toulouse before adding a second a minute later to make it five goals in three games. 

Greenwood arrived last month from Old Trafford, where his career began in promising fashion before he was suspended in January 2022 following allegations of attempted rape and sexual assault.

Prosecutors dropped charges in February 2023 and he went on to spend last season in Spain at Getafe.

Toulouse’s task was made harder by the red card handed out to forward Frank Magri in the 27th minute for a foul on Geoffrey Kondogbia.

Brazilian forward Luis Henrique provided the assists for both Greenwood goals and thought he had got himself on the scoresheet seven minutes into the second half but Marseille’s third was later awarded as an own goal to Charlie Cresswell.

Just before the end, Toulouse did find some consolation when the Gabon striker Shavy Babicka ran on to a through ball from Djibril Sidibe before sidestepping Geronimo Rulli and sliding the ball into the empty net.

“We had a good first half, scoring two goals,” Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi told DAZN after the match.

“It gave us an advantage to have an extra player and we relied on our strength in one-on-ones, particularly Greenwood, to score the brace.

“We still need to improve the speed and mentality of this team. We shouldn’t have conceded the goal, should have won 3-0.”

De Zerbi’s side now top the table with seven points, level with Nantes who won 3-1 away at Montpellier.

Matthis Abline put Nantes ahead after 24 minutes before Akor Adams levelled on the half-hour.

A Moses Simon penalty in added time at the end of the first half restored the visitors’ lead before Mostafa Mohamed made sure of the three points with the third five minutes from time.

“Seven points out of nine, that’s brilliant. We are super happy,” said a delighted Nantes coach Antoine Kombouare.

Brest secured their first win of the season with a 4-0 hammering of newly-promoted Saint-Etienne.

Mahdi Camara and Romain Del Castillo from the penalty spot put Brest two-up at half-time and they cruised to a comfortable win with further goals in the second half from Ludovic Ajorque and another penalty from Kenny Lala.

Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, who have six points, can go top of the table with victory at Lille on Sunday.

Mason Greenwood scored twice on his 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 arrived last month from Old Trafford, where his career began in promising fashion before he was suspended in January 2022 following allegations of attempted rape and sexual assault.

Prosecutors dropped charges in February 2023 and he went on to spend last season in Spain at Getafe. But still, Marseille fans, including the city’s left-wing mayor Benoit Payan, have condemned the signing of Greenwood.

He 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 Lens on Tuesday.

Rulli, an unused member of Argentina’s triumphant 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America squads, 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.”

‘Very, very scared’

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, a United academy graduate like Greenwood, 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.

“The latest news is rather reassuring, but it’s better to be careful,” said Lille coach Bruno Genesio.

He admitted to feeling “very, very scared” and criticised Kone’s conduct.

“There are things we shouldn’t see on a pitch. There are fouls you can excuse. This one for me is not one,” said Genesio.

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.

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

Paris Saint-Germain began their title defence with a 4-1 win at Le Havre on Friday in their first game since the departure of talisman Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid.

Marseille have signed striker Mason Greenwood from Manchester United, the Ligue 1 side announced on Thursday, despite the objection of some of the French club’s fans. The 22-year-old, who has played once for England, was suspended in January 2022 by Manchester United following allegations of attempted rape and sexual assault but prosecutors dropped charges in February 2023. He spent last season on loan at Getafe in La Liga. “Olympique de Marseille are delighted to announce the signing of Mason Greenwood from Manchester United. The 22-year-old striker has signed for the club following a successful medical,” said the French club on their website.

Marseille made no mention of the allegations in their statement. They called Greenwood “a precocious talent” and an “English nugget”.

The southern club, eighth in Ligue 1 last season, said their new striker will wear the number 10 shirt but did not specify the length of his contract or mention any fee to Manchester United.

However the deal is reported to be worth an estimated 30 million euros ($32.7m).

“We wish Mason all the best in his future career,” said United on their website.

Before the transfer became official, Marseille’s left-wing mayor Benoit Payan told French media: “I don’t want my club to be covered by shame.”

Greenwood has always denied the allegations.

“I did not do the things I was accused of, and in February I was cleared of all charges,” he said when he joined Getafe.

“However, I fully accept I made mistakes in my relationship.”

Greenwood made his debut for Manchester United aged 17 years and 156 days in the Champions League in 2019 and his Premier League debut four days later. He made his debut for England in September 2020.

The forward made 129 appearances and scored 35 goals for United but had not played for the Premier League club since January 2022.

Greenwood scored 10 goals in 36 games for Getafe last season.

His arrival in Marseille comes the day after the official departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Gabon international who was Marseille’s top scorer last season.

Marseille face Sunderland in a pre-season friendly on August 3 in Bradford, where Greenwood was born.

If he plays it could be his first game in England since he was arrested in January 2022 following allegations made against him.