Le Havre AC suffered a bitter 0-1 defeat to Olympique de Marseille on Sunday night at the Stade Océane. The only goal of the match came from a controversial Mason Greenwood penalty in the second half, a decision that sparked anger among the home side.

Habib Beye had set up with a five-man defence. "Le Havre will play with a defence of 5 tonight with Zouaoui and Doucouré as wing-backs and the Samatta-Soumaré duo in attack," the manager confirmed before kick-off. This structure held firm in the first half, resisting Marseille's pressure despite the visitors' overwhelming ball possession (74%).

The match turned on the hour mark after a handball by Gourna-Douath in the box, spotted following a VAR review. Mason Greenwood coolly converted the spot-kick to give OM the lead. Just minutes earlier, Sofiane Boufal had missed a penalty for Le Havre, squandering a golden chance to open the scoring.

A tense season finale

This defeat leaves Le Havre in a critical situation. The club now has just a one-point cushion over OGC Nice, who occupy the relegation play-off spot, with one matchday remaining. Les Ciel et Marine are now on a run of five consecutive Ligue 1 draws, a club record, and have not beaten Marseille at home in eleven meetings.

The match took a physical toll. Arouna Sangante, returning from suspension, suffered from cramp. Mbwana Ally Samatta went off holding his lower back after a muscular issue. The squad was already missing Daren Nbenbege Mosengo, Stephan Zagadou and Abdoulaye Touré.

The game was littered with yellow cards. S. Ebonog, Mason Greenwood, Quentin Timber, Y. Zouaoui, Sofiane Boufal and Tochukwu Nnadi were all cautioned by referee Benoît Bastien. This intensity reflected the key stakes for both teams.

Le Havre AC, currently 18th in Ligue 1 with only 2 points from five games, must now focus on their next outing. The trip to face Lille OSC, who sit 4th in the table, is scheduled for October 10th. The last meeting between the two sides ended in a 0-1 defeat for Le Havre.

This story first appeared at football365.fr