Marseille's Olympians top the podium in Toulouse
After suffering only one defeat in their previous seven league matches - a loss against current Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain - Toulouse were ahead almost immediately from the kick-off. Experiencing an enterprising goalscorer run throughout the 2022/23 league campaign, Thijs Dallinga needed no less than three minutes to add to a growing tally, as the Dutch under-21 international slotted Mikkel Desler's pin-point cross into the six-yard box beyond the grasp of Pau López.
Hoping to register an eighth successive H2H victory, in which Marseille had accumulated a staggering 22-4 aggregate scoreline, the visitors were inches away from levelling the game only seven minutes later. However, there wasn't to be an immediate response, as Maxime Dupé acrobatically redirected Jonathan Clauss’s goal-bound strike onto the paintwork of the crossbar. Minutes later, Dallinga should have gotten his name on the scoresheet again, only for the striker to fire straight at a relieved-looking López. Wasting goalscoring opportunities was seemingly the order of the day at the Stadium de Toulouse, and Chancel Mbemba was the next guilty party to miss a golden chance for his respective side, as the defender wastefully planted his header over the bar.
Needing to produce a better display in the second half, Marseille were back on level terms in the 52nd minute, as Mbemba atoned for his earlier miss by ruthlessly rifling the ball into the roof of the net from close range. The comeback was then complete seven minutes later, as Cengiz Ünder survived a brief intervention from VAR to give Les Phocéens the lead with a sublime bending strike that left Dupé with no chance. Marseille sealed all three points with a third goal in the 79th minute, as Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares beat Dupé at his near post.
Substitute Ado Onaiwu added a sensational late volleyed consolation for Toulouse, but Marseille held on to move back above AS Monaco into second position in the Ligue 1 standings. Igor Tudor's side will face defending champions PSG next in a highly-anticipated title six-pointer. As for Toulouse, they miss the chance to move into the top half of the standings after suffering their first home league defeat since New Year's Day.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Cengiz Ünder (Olympique de Marseille)
