Marseille ended 2025 on a high by beating Monaco 1-0, with Mason Greenwood bagging his 15th goal of the season in all competitions. Roberto De Zerbi's side were only five points behind Ligue 1 leaders Lens and four adrift of defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at that point, but that gap has been widened after the first week of the New Year.
Lens and PSG both picked up victories while Marseille went down 2-0 at home to relegation-threatened Nantes in one of the biggest shocks of the campaign to date. OM were the masters of their own downfall, too, as they lost all discipline in front of a frustrated Velodrome crowd.
Arthur Vermeeren was sent off for a late challenge on the Nantes goalkeeper in the 26th minute, and the visitors took the lead through Fabien Centonze five minutes later. Marseille were then reduced to nine men early in the second half after Bilal Nadil picked up a second yellow card, with a late penalty from Remy Cabella eventually wrapping up the victory for Nantes.
There were no excuses from De Zerbi either, as he told his post-match press conference: "If we play like this, if we don’t show more desire to win, we get what we deserve, which is no better than third place. We lacked energy, everyone. I don’t know why. Today, we would have played poorly even with 14 men, regardless of whether we defended with two or three players."
Several Marseille players dramatically underperformed, but it's fair to say that Greenwood was the one most lacking in desire and energy. He only completed one of his six attempted dribbles and won just three of his 11 ground duels before being hooked for Amine Gouiri in the 73rd minute. De Zerbi has frequently been critical of Greenwood's work rate off the ball, and there is no hiding place for the ex-Manchester United forward on days like this, when he also falls flat in the final third.
Greenwood will no doubt bounce back and add to his impressive goal tally, but the 24-year-old has still to learn what it means to be a true team player, and Marseille are still too reliant on individual moments. A proper title tilt will be beyond them because PSG and Lens function far better as collective units.