Angers 2-5 Marseille: Genesio’s side turn a scare into a statement

Marseille needed clarity, control, and points. They got all three yesterday at Stade Raymond Kopa, beating Angers 5-2 in Ligue 1 after recovering from an early deficit and finishing with the kind of ruthless late burst that changes the mood around a club.

Bruno Genesio’s team arrived in Angers stuck in mid-table traffic, 9th after seven matches, with 9 points and a goal difference now lifted to +4. This was not a quiet win. It was messy early, convincing by the end, and built on the players who gave Marseille width, tempo, and repeated final-third pressure.

Angers, coached by S. Gilli, had their moment. Lillian Rao-Lisoa scored in the 14th minute, giving the home side belief and briefly exposing Marseille’s defensive looseness. But once Marseille settled, the match tilted hard. Himad Abdelli equalised in the 37th minute from a Timothy Weah assist, Nouhoum Kamissoko put Marseille ahead in the 43rd minute from an Emerson Palmieri assist, and Angers never fully regained control.

Amine Gouiri missed a penalty in the 59th minute, then scored in the 60th minute. That was the key psychological swing. The miss could have brought noise, doubt, and Angers back into the game. Instead, Gouiri answered immediately, and Marseille had their cushion.

Amine El Ouazzani scored a penalty for Angers in the 75th minute to make the final phase uncomfortable. Then Marseille closed the file: Amine Harit scored in the 83rd minute from a Tochukwu Nnadi assist, and Igor Paixão scored in the 85th minute from another Timothy Weah assist.

Deal done, in football terms: Angers 2-5 Marseille.

The match story

S. Gilli set Angers up in a 4-2-3-1: Anthony Lopes in goal, C. Arcus, E. Biumla, M. Gernigon and L. Rao-Lisoa across the back, Y. Belkhdim and B. van den Boomen in midfield, with J. Allevinah, L. Mouton and A. Sbaï behind A. El Ouazzani.

Genesio matched that 4-2-3-1 with J. de Lange in goal, T. Weah, C. Egan-Riley, G. Kondogbia and Emerson in defence, Nouhoum Kamissoko and T. Nnadi as the midfield base, A. Harit, H. Abdelli and Igor Paixão behind A. Gouiri.

The symmetry mattered. Both teams began with the same nominal shape, but Marseille’s version had more thrust. Weah was the standout outlet and the game’s clearest creator. His assist for Abdelli in the 37th minute brought Marseille level, and his second assist, for Paixão in the 85th minute, killed the contest completely.

Emerson Palmieri also mattered. His assist for Kamissoko in the 43rd minute turned the first half around and underlined where Marseille were finding their advantage: from full-back zones, with the wide defenders stepping into attacks and stretching Angers’ midfield line.

Angers were not passive. Rao-Lisoa scored in the 14th minute and finished with three shots, one on target, four duels won from five, and a goal from left-back. El Ouazzani kept fighting, scoring the penalty in the 75th minute and winning six of 10 duels. J. Allevinah and A. Sbaï both produced three key passes, evidence that Angers did create routes forward.

But they could not survive the volume. Marseille had 21 shots. Angers had 11. Marseille had 58% possession and 564 passes. Angers had 42% possession and 388 passes. The balance of the match was clear long before the score became brutal.

The turning points

The first arrived before half-time.

Angers led through Rao-Lisoa in the 14th minute, but Marseille’s response was measured rather than frantic. Abdelli, operating between Angers’ midfield and defensive lines, became central. He scored in the 37th minute, assisted by Weah, then kept Marseille moving through the middle. His numbers were strong: one goal, four key passes, 55 passes, 52 accurate.

The second turning point came in the 43rd minute. Kamissoko scored from an Emerson Palmieri assist, giving Marseille a 2-1 lead before the interval. Kamissoko’s contribution was not just the goal. He played 80 minutes, completed 48 accurate passes from 53, made two interceptions, and gave Genesio’s side balance before Angel Gomes replaced him in the 80th minute.

The third came around Gouiri. He missed a penalty in the 59th minute, then scored in the 60th minute. For a forward, that matters. The penalty miss could have lingered. Instead, he stayed in the game mentally and put Marseille 3-1 up. He finished with four shots, three on target, two key passes, and a goal.

Then came the late package.

Nnadi was booked in the 74th minute, but still supplied Harit for Marseille’s fourth in the 83rd minute. Two minutes later, Weah created again, this time for Paixão in the 85th minute. Paixão had eight shots, two on target, and finally got his goal. That persistence mattered as much as the finish itself.

Discipline and changes

Angers had the first substitution of the match in the 57th minute, with Prosper Peter replacing Louis Mouton. Marseille responded in the 60th minute, Nayef Aguerd coming on for Geoffrey Kondogbia.

Emmanuel Biumla was booked in the 68th minute for Angers, then replaced in the 72nd minute by Joseph Kalulu. At the same minute, Harouna Djibirin came on for Jim Allevinah.

Tochukwu Nnadi was booked in the 74th minute for Marseille, one minute before El Ouazzani scored Angers’ penalty in the 75th minute.

Genesio then refreshed the side in the 80th minute: Angel Gomes replaced Nouhoum Kamissoko, and Keyliane Abdallah came on for Himad Abdelli. Angers made two late changes in the 89th minute, Bané Diatta for Amine El Ouazzani and Anthony Bermont for Amine Sbaï. Marseille closed with Neal Maupay replacing Tochukwu Nnadi in the 90th minute and Ulisses Garcia replacing Amine Harit in the 90th minute.

Match numbers

The xG tells part of the truth: Angers were not empty. At 2.06 expected goals, they had chances and pressure of their own. But Marseille turned territorial control into repeated shots, and they had more players capable of deciding moments.

Anthony Lopes made three saves for Angers, but faced eight shots on target. J. de Lange made one save for Marseille, which says plenty about the difference in defensive protection and attacking pressure.

Why Marseille won

Timothy Weah changed the game because he gave Marseille a reliable attacking lane. Two assists, two key passes, 45 accurate passes from 48, two tackles, three interceptions, and every important phase seemed to involve him.

Abdelli gave Marseille control between the lines. Harit added craft and then the fourth goal. Gouiri supplied the centre-forward response after his missed penalty. Paixão kept shooting until the match bent his way. Kamissoko’s goal before half-time changed the scoreline and the emotional direction of the afternoon.

Angers’ problem was not effort. It was resistance. Once Marseille found rhythm, Gilli’s 4-2-3-1 became stretched. Belkhdim and van den Boomen had to cover too much space, while the attacking line could not keep the ball long enough to slow the match. Angers had bright work from Allevinah, Sbaï, Rao-Lisoa and El Ouazzani, but Marseille had more weight in every wave.

The result leaves Angers 15th with 7 points, just above the danger line and with a worsening goal difference of -6. Marseille, 9th with 9 points, are still not where they want to be, but this was the kind of away win that can reset a timeline.

Elsewhere in the weekend picture, Lens kept themselves above Marseille with their own win, covered here: Thauvin Pulls the Strings as Lens See Off Struggling Troyes.

For Genesio, the next step is simple: make this the start of a run, not a one-off correction. Marseille have the attacking pieces. Yesterday, at last, they looked like they had the green light to use them.