Olympique de Marseille left it late at the Stade de la Meinau, but a stoppage-time strike from Michael Murillo sealed a 2-1 victory over Strasbourg and carried the visitors to the top of Ligue 1. It was their first win on Alsatian soil in three years, and a result that said as much about their grit as their flair.
For Strasbourg, the evening unravelled in cruel fashion. They came into the contest boasting a spotless defensive record at home, yet were forced onto the back foot almost immediately. Timothy Weah’s early drive took a wicked deflection off Mamadou Sarr, and though Mike Penders got enough on it to parry, he spilled the ball into the path of Amine Gouiri. The forward, to the disbelief of the travelling support, contrived to miss from close range.
That escape seemed to flick a switch for Liam Rosenior’s side. A clipped pass sent Emanuel Emegha racing clear after 17 minutes and he even rounded Gerónimo Rulli, only to see the flag cut short his celebration. It was a reminder, though, that Marseille’s high line could be breached. From there Strasbourg grew into the half, Diego Moreira curling a tempting ball towards Valentín Barco, whose effort on the stretch lacked conviction.
Still, Igor Tudor’s men looked the sharper in the final third. Gouiri forced Penders into a full-stretch save from a free-kick, before stabbing wide when slipped in behind. Igor Paixão also tested the Strasbourg keeper at his near post, but parity was preserved until the interval.
The breakthrough, when it came, was greeted with a roar from the home support. Within five minutes of the restart, Emegha once again surged in behind, this time dragging Rulli out of position before squaring for substitute Abdoul Ouattara to roll into an empty net. The flag went up once more, but VAR intervened in Strasbourg’s favour, confirming the goal.
Marseille’s response was predictable pressure. Gouiri flicked a cushioned volley agonisingly wide, while Nayef Aguerd had to be at full stretch to prevent substitute Joaquín Panichelli doubling Strasbourg’s advantage. Those interventions proved decisive, because moments later Pierre-Emile Højbjerg forced a turnover high up the pitch, slipped in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and though the striker’s first effort was repelled, he buried the rebound with trademark ruthlessness.
The pendulum had swung. Højbjerg nearly turned scorer himself, rising to glance a header against the post, before the drama that settled it in stoppage time. Emerson Palmieri met a teasing cross with a header that Penders tipped onto the bar, but again the Strasbourg keeper’s handling betrayed him. Murillo was quickest to react, hammering the rebound into the roof of the net and sparking bedlam in the away section.
For Marseille, it was a win of substance as much as style. They rode their luck, defended doggedly when it mattered, and found the cutting edge just in time. Strasbourg, by contrast, will be left stewing on what might have been — a first home defeat of the campaign, sealed not by a lack of endeavour, but by two lapses in the moments that counted.
