De Zerbi hails ´extraordinary´ Greenwood after debut brace

Roberto De Zerbi has hailed Mason Greenwood’s performance after the striker scored a brace on his Marseille debut on Saturday.

The Italian started life in Ligue 1 with an impressive 5-1 win over Brest, with Luis Henrique also scoring twice on either side of Mahdi Camara’s goal, before Elye Wahi rounded off the win from the penalty spot.

Greenwood, who joined Marseille on a permanent transfer last month having spent last season on loan at Getafe, settled in quickly, netting his first goal within three minutes and slotting in his second from 12 yards just after the half-hour mark.

He is just the third player to score twice on his Ligue 1 debut for Marseille this century, after Dimitri Payet (2013) and Luis Suarez (2022).

De Zerbi was particularly impressed by the 22-year-old, explaining what sets him apart from other players.

“Mason Greenwood is a player who is different from the others, he has an extraordinary level,” De Zerbi said after the game.

“I am happy that he scored. This will calm the controversies that surrounded his arrival.”

2 – Ils ont inscrit un doublé pour leur 1er match de Ligue 1 avec Marseille au 21e siècle :

Dimitri Payet en 2013
Luis Suárez en 2022
Mason Greenwood en 2024

Débuts. pic.twitter.com/GZMgM2BYgi

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) August 17, 2024

Marseille finished eighth in the French top-flight last season before bringing in De Zerbi to improve on that result.

And the 45-year-old was pleased that their work in the off-season led to such an emphatic start to the season.

“I’m happy. We started from a long way back, we had to rebuild a team,” De Zerbi told beIN Sports.

“It gave me satisfaction, especially in the second half where the team showed mental strength to go for the victory.”