Marseille 4-3 Le Havre: a 4-0 lead survives a Josh Maja-led fightback

Marseille scored four goals inside 55 minutes at the Vélodrome and still had to survive a finish that nobody at the ground expected. CJ Egan-Riley headed the hosts in front in the fifth minute, Timothy Weah doubled it in the 33rd minute, and two goals in five second-half minutes from Igor Paixão and Himad Abdelli made it 4-0 — only for bottom club Le Havre to score three times in the final 13 minutes, through Josh Maja twice and Mouhamed N'Diaye once, to turn a rout into a genuine finish. Marseille held on to win 4-3.

Four goals before the hour

Egan-Riley's opener came from an Emerson delivery inside five minutes, and Timothy Weah made it two without an assist in the 33rd minute. Marseille turned the screw straight after half-time: Igor Paixão finished a move created by Amine Gouiri in the 50th minute, and Himad Abdelli added a fourth five minutes later with a goal of his own, by which point the game appeared to be long settled.

Maja drags Le Havre back into it

Le Havre, without a win in their last four league games before kickoff and sitting 18th in the table, found something nobody saw coming. Josh Maja converted a 77th-minute penalty to get his side on the board, Mouhamed N'Diaye headed in a second with nine minutes left, and Maja completed his brace with another header, set up by substitute Kaito Mizuta, in the 89th minute to make it 4-3. The three goals arrived inside a 13-minute window, and for a few minutes it looked as if Marseille's cushion might not be enough — but the final whistle came before Le Havre could find a fourth.

• 5' — CJ Egan-Riley (Marseille), assisted by Emerson
• 33' — Timothy Weah (Marseille)
• 50' — Igor Paixão (Marseille), assisted by Amine Gouiri
• 55' — Himad Abdelli (Marseille)
• 77' — Josh Maja (Le Havre), penalty
• 86' — Mouhamed N'Diaye (Le Havre)
• 89' — Josh Maja (Le Havre), assisted by Kaito Mizuta

Line-ups

Marseille climb away from the bottom half

The win lifts Marseille to 8th on 12 points and is a third straight win, following a 2-0 win at Troyes and a 5-2 win at Angers — a turnaround after three consecutive defeats to Paris FC, Rennes and PSG earlier in the campaign. Le Havre, despite scoring three times, stay rooted to 18th and bottom of the table on just two points from eight matches, with only two draws to their name and their goal difference now at -7 after conceding four more.

What's next

Marseille will look to carry the win into their next fixture with real momentum after two wins on the bounce. For Le Havre, there is at least evidence in this match that the attack can function in bursts — Maja's two goals and three in 13 minutes are a rare sign of life — but the table says the same problem remains: a defence that has now conceded 15 goals in eight games, and a points total that still reads just two.