Mason Greenwood was handed a verdict by the French media after his performance against Nice on Friday night with the ex-Manchester United forward grabbing a brace
Mason Greenwood during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League match between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Olympique de Marseille.
Mason Greenwood continues to impress for Marseille. (Image: Zed Jameson/MB Media/Getty Images)
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Former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood has drawn plaudits from the French media for his performance against Nice in Ligue 1.
Greenwood was on the scoresheet twice in a 5-1 away win on Friday night, ahead of which he gave a rare interview. The goals were his ninth and 10th in the league so far this season, which means that he is currently topping the race for the Ligue 1 Golden Boot.
Leading with a headline that read: "Thanks to a brace from Greenwood, the Olympians sink the Aiglons and take over as leaders" La Parisien were full of praise for the 24-year-old.
They said: "The Englishman then scored Marseille's second goal himself with a right-footed shot deflected by Bard, who endured a very difficult first 45 minutes."
The outlet added: "The Dutch goalkeeper thwarted Terem Moffi, allowing Greenwood to finally seal the victory... the Englishman was ruthless: in the 53rd minute, he left Juma Bah for dead with a feint and a burst of speed before beating Yehvann Diouf with a perfectly placed, low, right-footed shot across goal (3-0)."
Meanwhile, GET Football gave Greenwood an eight out of 10 in their player ratings. They said: "The Englishman provided a brace to become top scorer in the league with ten strikes.
"Whilst he had a quiet opening period, the former Manchester United man sprung into life when he found several pockets of space down the right side – especially on the counter attack."
They added: "His first goal was a deflected strike off Vanhoutte, but he was well-positioned to receive the ball and drive into the dangerous area on the left side. His second strike of the evening was more impressive: Leo Balerdi released him on the edge of the box, and Greenwood shifted his body well before releasing a low strike past Diouf.
The 24-year-old granted an interview ahead of the clash against Nice. Greenwood was asked about his skills, and when pushed on what he thinks his best move on the pitch is, he replied with: “The stepover.”
Brazilian icon Ronaldo was a name then mentioned by the interviewer, with Greenwood saying: “I watched a lot of him when I was younger, he used to do it on the goalkeepers a lot, which is kind of crazy.”
Mason Greenwood looks on
Mason Greenwood moved on to Marseille in 2024
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In a separate part of the chat, Greenwood opened up on a technique he uses to help keep himself calm when in goalscoring opportunities.
“The night before a game, I’m in bed and you’re just visualising things in your head, moments on the pitch,” he said. "And when I go out to warm up on the pitch, I like to visualise, maybe if I’m in certain situations I’ll do this or do that, so when it comes to it it’s second nature really, I can just do it straight away.”
Expanding on his penchant to use both feet, Greenwood said: “When you’ve got both feet, the defender sometimes likes to show you one way on to your weaker side or on to another side.
"Which I like, because if he’s showing me or wants to push me, I’ll take the opportunity because I can shoot on the right side. Or if he wants to show me to the left, I can take the opportunity on the left.”
Greenwood has consistently impressed for the French side since making a move from United back in the summer of 2024. The transfer saw United earn a fee of £26.7million, but they also have a sell-on clause inserted into the deal, which will see them given half of any fee earned by Marseille.
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