Olympique de Marseille delivered a footballing masterclass on Tuesday night, cruising past sixth-tier Bayeux with a resounding 9-0 victory in the Coupe de France to secure their place in the last 16. The match, held at Caen’s Stade Michel Ornano due to Bayeux’s modest home ground, quickly turned into a showcase of Marseille’s attacking firepower, with English forward Mason Greenwood stealing the spotlight.
Greenwood, who joined Marseille after his stint at Manchester United, was simply unstoppable. Not only did he net a hat-trick—his final goal coming in the 90th minute—but he also set up two more, underlining his value as the club’s attacking talisman. The 24-year-old Englishman has now scored 19 goals in 25 games this season, building on his impressive tally of 22 goals in all competitions last year. When asked about his performance, Greenwood was all business: “I just want to help the team win trophies,” he said, according to AP.
Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi made no secret of his ambitions for silverware this season. Sitting third in Ligue 1, eight points adrift of leaders Lens, the Italian tactician named a strong starting lineup despite facing an amateur opponent. Alongside Greenwood, French World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard, Angel Gomes, and Amine Gouiri all started, leaving little to chance. “We respect every opponent, and the Coupe de France is a competition we want to win,” De Zerbi emphasized in the pre-match build-up.
From the opening whistle, Marseille looked determined to avoid the kind of Cup upset that had befallen Paris Saint-Germain just a night earlier, when the reigning champions were dumped out by Paris FC. Bayeux, buoyed by the occasion and a vociferous local crowd, held firm for the first ten minutes. But it was Greenwood who sparked the breakthrough, racing down the left and providing a pinpoint pull-back for Angel Gomes to slot home in the 12th minute. Gomes, whose future at Marseille has been the subject of speculation, celebrated the goal with evident relief.
Moments later, Bayeux’s hopes of a fairytale were further dashed. A misjudged clearance from goalkeeper Lecanu fell kindly to Hamed Junior Traoré, who showed composure to double Marseille’s advantage. The floodgates were now open. Greenwood, always lurking with intent, soon got on the scoresheet himself, before Amine Gouiri tapped in at the far post to make it 4-0 before the break. Gouiri, who finished the night with two goals and an assist, was a constant menace to Bayeux’s beleaguered defense.
At halftime, De Zerbi opted for fresh legs, introducing CJ Egan-Riley and Timothy Weah. The changes did nothing to stem Marseille’s momentum. Early in the second half, Gouiri burst past the goalkeeper on the byline and squared for Greenwood to tap home his second of the evening. Gouiri then notched his second, finishing smartly after being played in behind the defense. By now, the gulf in class was painfully clear, but Bayeux continued to battle gamely, earning applause from the home supporters for their spirit.
The goals kept coming. Egan-Riley, making his mark after being brought on, headed home his first for Marseille. Neal Maupay, another of De Zerbi’s attacking options, also found the net, further inflating the scoreline. As the match ticked into stoppage time, the stage was set for Greenwood to complete his hat-trick. Seizing on a loose ball in the box, he fired past Lecanu, capping a memorable night for both himself and his club.
“It’s always special to score three, but tonight was about the team,” Greenwood told reporters post-match. “We wanted to show our intent in this competition, especially after seeing what happened to PSG. There are no easy games in the Cup, but we made sure we approached it with the right mentality.”
Marseille’s dominance in the Coupe de France has been emphatic so far, with 15 goals scored in just two matches—having dispatched third-tier Bourg-en-Bresse 6-0 in the previous round. Yet, for all their attacking flair, De Zerbi and his squad know sterner tests await. The draw for the last 16, held earlier on Tuesday, paired Marseille with fellow Ligue 1 side Rennes. The tie, set for early February at the Stade Vélodrome, promises a far more rigorous examination of Marseille’s credentials.
Elsewhere in the competition, the draw threw up several intriguing matchups: Toulouse will host Amiens, Strasbourg faces Monaco, Reims takes on Le Mans, Nice meets Montpellier, Lyon welcomes Laval, Lorient clashes with Paris FC, and Troyes squares off against Lens. But all eyes in Marseille are on their own path to potential glory—a path that now looks a little clearer with Paris Saint-Germain, the defending champions, already eliminated.
For Bayeux, the night ended in disappointment, but their run to this stage was a story in itself. The sixth-tier club, unaccustomed to the spotlight, relished the opportunity to test themselves against one of France’s giants. “We gave everything, but their quality was just too much,” admitted Bayeux manager Jean-Luc Martin. “It’s a night our players and fans will remember, even if the scoreline was harsh.”
As for Marseille, the focus quickly shifts back to Ligue 1 and the looming Cup showdown with Rennes. The squad’s blend of experience and youthful exuberance, exemplified by the likes of Greenwood, Gouiri, and Gomes, has supporters dreaming of a deep Cup run. De Zerbi, ever the pragmatist, remains cautious: “This is just one step. We have to keep working, keep improving, and stay hungry.”
With their attacking stars firing on all cylinders and a renewed sense of purpose, Marseille’s quest for silverware is gathering pace. The emphatic win over Bayeux may have been expected, but the manner of the victory—and the statement it sends to rivals—cannot be ignored. As the Coupe de France enters its decisive stages, Marseille’s faithful will be hoping this is finally the year their team delivers on its rich promise.
