A recent dip in form had seen Marseille’s grip on a UEFA Champions League qualification spot slip more and more with each passing week, but a game at home against struggling Metz offered them the opportunity to breathe life back into their campaign.
And Les Phocéens got off to the perfect start, taking the lead just before the quarter-hour mark.
As Metz pushed men forward for a set-piece, they were punished on the counter as Mason Greenwood slipped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang through for the Gabon international to power into the top-left corner despite slipping as he connected with the ball.
Aubameyang thought he had doubled his tally for the evening with a little more than 30 minutes on the clock, but after racing onto Quinten Timber’s through ball and rounding Pape Sy to slot in, his goal was ruled out for a narrow offside call.
The hosts were totally dominant throughout the first half, yet Metz almost went into the break with the scores level as Gauthier Hein’s effort cannoned off the post.
Marseille got off to a flyer once again when play resumed for the second half and doubled their lead in similar circumstances to the opener.
A Metz corner this time turned into a counterattack for the hosts, with Greenwood once again spearheading the break forward before setting up Igor Paixão for an exquisite chip over Sy.
Nevertheless, the two-goal lead lasted a little over a minute when Giorgi Tsitaishvili was criminally afforded space in the Marseille box after cutting inside from the right prior to his shot trickling straight through the legs of Gerónimo Rulli.
Habib Beye’s men continued to pour forward in their attempts to secure the points, and Aubameyang was denied from a tight angle before Timber fired narrowly over the bar.
The third goal finally arrived in stoppage time as Amine Gouiri delivered the ball on a plate for Hamed Traorè to fire home and help Marseille to claim all three points, though Beye will be concerned with his side’s lack of clinical finishing.
Ultimately, a fourth win since taking over the helm at Marseille keeps them in contention for UCL football next season. Metz, on the other hand, sit eight points off the relegation play-off spot with just five games remaining, and look increasingly likely to drop straight back down to Ligue 2.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mason Greenwood (Olympique de Marseille)