Marseille survive late scare after racing into four-goal lead against Le Havre

Marseille clinched their third consecutive Ligue 1 victory after edging Le Havre 4-3 at home in a thrilling Round 8 encounter. The hosts raced into a commanding 4-0 lead through CJ Egan-Riley (5'), Timothy Weah (33'), Igor Paixão (50'), and Himad Abdelli (55'). However, a late lapse in concentration allowed the visitors back into the contest courtesy of a Josh Maja brace (77', 89') and a Mouhamed Ndiaye strike (86'), leaving the hosts sweating through the closing stages to secure all three points.

Marseille broke the deadlock just five minutes in when Egan-Riley headed home from an Emerson cross. Weah then doubled the advantage in the 33rd minute with an impressive solo run into the penalty area.

OM struck twice more early in the second half. Paixão finished off a setup from Amine Gouiri in the 50th minute to make it 3-0, before Abdelli capitalised on a poor defensive clearance from Le Havre five minutes later to slot home the fourth.

The visitors refused to lie down and began their fightback in the 77th minute, with Maja converting a penalty awarded for a foul by Weah. Ndiaye then finished from close range in the 86th minute, and just three minutes later Maja headed in to reduce the deficit to 4-3.

Despite the frantic finale, Marseille held on to claim the win, taking their tally to 12 points and climbing to 8th in the standings. The side, who face Levski in the Europa League league phase, sit four points adrift of league leaders Rennes. Le Havre remain bottom in 18th place on just two points, still searching for their first victory of the campaign.