Mason Greenwood's 'Extraordinary' Debut For Marseille Hailed By De Zerbi

Roberto De Zerbi praised Mason Greenwood's performance after the striker scored twice on his Marseille debut. The Italian coach began his Ligue 1 journey with a commanding 5-1 victory over Brest. Luis Henrique also netted twice, with Mahdi Camara scoring for Brest before Elye Wahi sealed the win from the penalty spot.

Greenwood, who joined Marseille permanently last month after a loan spell at Getafe, made an immediate impact. He scored his first goal within three minutes and added a second from the penalty spot just after 30 minutes. He became only the third player this century to score twice on his Ligue 1 debut for Marseille, following Dimitri Payet in 2013 and Luis Suarez in 2022.

De Zerbi was particularly impressed by Greenwood's unique abilities. "Mason Greenwood is a player who is different from the others; he has an extraordinary level," De Zerbi said post-match. "I am happy that he scored. This will calm the controversies that surrounded his arrival."

Marseille finished eighth in Ligue 1 last season and brought in De Zerbi to improve their standing. The coach expressed satisfaction with their pre-season efforts leading to such a strong start. "I'm happy. We started from a long way back; we had to rebuild a team," De Zerbi told beIN Sports.

The coach highlighted the team's resilience, especially in the second half of the match. "It gave me satisfaction, especially in the second half where the team showed mental strength to go for the victory," he added.

This emphatic win sets a positive tone for Marseille as they aim to climb higher in the French top-flight this season under De Zerbi's guidance.