Mason Greenwood & Co achieve Champions League 'perfection' as Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi raves about 'truly extraordinary' performance against Ajax

Marseille secured a dominant 4-0 victory over Ajax in their Champions League first phase clash, with Paixao the star of the show, scoring his first two goals for the club in the sixth and 12th minutes, with the first coming via an assist from Aubameyang. Greenwood added a third in the 26th minute, also set up by Aubameyang. And Aubameyang completed the scoring in the 52nd minute, netting the fourth from a counter-attack, with an assist from Paixao. The victory handed Marseille their first points of the Champions League campaign after a 2-1 defeat by Real Madrid in the first matchday, while the Dutch side slumped to their second defeat in Europe, having lost 2-0 to Inter Milan in their opening fixture. Ajax were poor on the night, registering only two shots on target throughout the match, and were thoroughly outplayed by De Zerbi's side. 

Following the match, De Zerbi heaped praise on his side. He said: "We played an incredible match, the team was truly extraordinary. The team was very young, but competent, they can cause problems for any team and we played well in attack. The first half was perfect, almost perfect. Like against PSG in the second half, there was more tiredness, they failed to maintain the same mentality for 90 minutes. We've only conceded one goal in the last three matches."

Marseille have had a mixed start to the season, they sit third in Ligue 1 with 12 points after six games. They have won four and lost two of their league matches so far, with the highlight coming in a 1-0 victory over rivals PSG last month. Performances in Ligue 1 have been characterised by strong attacking displays at home, but they have struggled on the road. The impressive win against Ajax suggests potential for a successful European campaign, but their inconsistent domestic form, marked by a struggle for goals in away games, is a key area for De Zerbi to focus on as the season progresses, and maintaining consistency will be key to challenging for the title. There have also been key injuries to Geoffrey Kondogbia (calf strain) and Hamed Traoré (thigh injury), which haven’t helped, but both are expected to return this month. 

Greenwood has started the season in fine form, building on his impressive debut year with the club. He was the joint top scorer in Ligue 1 last season alongside Ousmane Dembele, notching 21 goals. He is also being tipped to switch international allegiance from England to Jamaica, which follows a period of significant change for the player after criminal charges against him were dropped in February 2023, leading to his departure from Manchester United and subsequent move to France.