Olympique Marseille fans are regarded as the most passionate supporters not only in France, but generally in that part of Europe. Everyone knows how fiery they can be both when showing their support and when voicing their displeasure, and this summer they have not had many reasons to celebrate. Marseille entered the new season without money, reinforcements, and after losing a large number of key players, including Mason Greenwood, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Facundo Medina and Geronimo Rulli. It is far from an easy situation, while the fans at the Velodrome demand victories regardless of the circumstances at the club — and those circumstances are anything but favorable. Strasbourg was certainly not an ideal opponent to begin the season against, but Marseille managed to overcome its problems and, backed by the roar of the Velodrome, demolished Chelsea's affiliate club 4–0.𝑼𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆̀𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆́𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑨𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒊 𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒆́𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 🇩🇿• 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒅𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒕 🏟️ • 𝑫𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆́ ⚽️• 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 🏅 pic.twitter.com/uCEe255MSq— Icosium FC (@IcosiumFC) August 21, 2026
The match at France's most famous stadium was dominated by Amine Gouiri, who scored twice. The Algerian-born forward did far more than simply find the net, which is his primary job: with a series of brilliant pieces of skill, he repeatedly tied Strasbourg defenders in knots and showed that Marseille have plenty to work with even if they have neither money nor reinforcements. Of course, it would be unfair to overlook the other goalscorers and contributors, namely youngsters Keylian Abdallah and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The hosts were the better side from the start, although there were several moments in the first half when the visitors could have done much better and even taken the lead at 0–0. In particular, Strasbourg had opportunities in the 38th and 39th minutes. Overall, however, Marseille created chances of their own, and it seemed only a matter of time before Bruno Genesio's side would find the net. That finally happened at the beginning of the second half.
The hosts' pressure paid off almost immediately after the restart. Amine Gouiri received the ball inside the penalty area before calmly picking out the corner to beat Filip Jorgensen. From that point on, there was only one team on the pitch. Strasbourg's task became even more difficult in the 59th minute, when Samir El Mourabet was shown a straight red card following a reckless and dangerous challenge. From there, things became a complete downhill slide for the helpless visitors. Another setback came in the 67th minute, when referee Ruddy Buquet pointed to the penalty spot. Gouiri converted for his second goal of the game to make it 2–0. That was effectively game over for an already lackluster Strasbourg side, but Marseille continued attacking. In the 89th minute, young Keylian Abdallah, who was promoted from the reserve team this summer, made it 3–0. The final score was completed by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who produced an excellent strike from the edge of the penalty area deep into stoppage time. These are the hosts' first three points of the season, but they owe much of the victory to Gouiri's brilliance and the inspiration of the other players. Can they perform like this every time? Probably not. That is precisely why reinforcements need to arrive at the Velodrome as soon as possible if Marseille are to remain competitive.LIGUE 1 – MATCHDAY 1FridayOlympique Marseille – Strasbourg 4-0 (0-0)/Gouiri 46, 68 pen, Abdallah 89, Hojbjerg 90+6/Saturday18.15: (1.62) Lens (4.50) Auxerre (5.50)21.45: (2.55) Le Mans (3.30) Brest (2.80)21.45: (2.15) Nice (3.45) Lorient (3.35)21.45: (2.95) Toulouse (3.50) Olympique Lyon (2.50)21.45: (3.05) Troyes (3.45) Paris (2.30)Sunday16.00: (5.50) Angers (3.70) Lille (1.75)18.15: (3.60) Le Havre (4.00) Monaco (1.95)21.45: (6.00) Rennes (4.40) PSG (1.55)***odds are subject to change***