With just one place separating the two sides, it was unsurprising to see two closely matched teams produce a cagey half at the Stade Velodrome.
The first 40 minutes produced only two real chances of note, with Eliesse Ben Seghir forcing Geronimo Rulli into action before Greenwood’s ambitious long-range strike required a routine stop from Radoslaw Majecki. Despite those glimpses of attacking action, the battle between second and third looked set to produce a goalless half.
That was until Monaco punished Valentin Rongier for a loose pass in the 41st minute. The visitors pounced on the midfielder’s error to quickly work the ball to Aleksandr Golovin on the left side of the box, leaving the winger to fire past Rulli to extend Monaco’s scoring run to 17 consecutive away league games.
However, the joy of a half-time lead proved to be short-lived, when a Mohammed Salisu mistake led to a Marseille equaliser within eight minutes of the restart. The centre-back knocked the ball into the path of Maupay, who nodded it on for Luis Henrique to head home his sixth goal of the season.
With momentum now in Marseille’s favour, Greenwood led the quest for a potential winner, cutting inside onto his left foot before stinging the palms of the resolute Majecki. Monaco still had their own ambitions of snatching all three points though, with Golovin curling the ball into Rulli’s clutches, shortly before Takumi Minamino lashed a left-foot shot into the side-netting.
Just as time seemed to be running out for a potential winner, Marseille were awarded a late penalty after VAR ruled that Christian Mawissa had handled the ball in the box.
Greenwood kept his composure to send Majecki the wrong way to guide the hosts to their first home league win since September. As a result, the two sides finish Matchday 13 on 26 points and seven points adrift of leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mason Greenwood (Marseille)
