Szobo + free-kick goal = Liverpool's win! Marseille brushed aside with ease
Reading Time: 4min | Thu. 22.01.26. | 07:07
The Hungarian's free-kick opener paved the way for the Reds' victory in France, as wasted chances cost L'OM a better result - 3-0
It may sound like a washed-up phrase when someone says that one team won because it exploited its chances, while the other didn't, but that's what happened tonight in Marseille.
Olympique were neither worse nor subordinate to Liverpool, and still, they easily lost the game 3-0, although the final outcome was too harsh on the French team.
Looking at the number of opportunities, neither rival had an advantage, but Dominik Szoboszlai's cheeky and clever free kick seconds before the break paved the way for the Reds' triumph, while Jeremie Frimpong's 72nd-minute goal - officially, Geronimo Rulli's own goal - and Cody Gakpo's added-time strike sealed the deal for the Premier League side.
In the meantime, Mason Greenwood, Timothy Weah, Amine Gouiri, and Co. were wasting their chances and ultimately paid a high price, as Alisson was an insurmountable obstacle for them.
FT: Marseille 0-3 Liverpool.
— Olubayo Godswill (@GodswillCiroc24) January 21, 2026
LIVERPOOL BEAT THIS DE ZERBI'S SUPER TEAM... 3 GOALS AND A CLEAN SHEET! 🏴🌟 pic.twitter.com/dnm8fqC1UZ
As if neither side had the courage to attack with full power, the majority of the first half was a battle in the midfield. In the opening 45 minutes, the French and English representatives provided the crowd with only two notable moments - Amine Gouiri's powerful strike, which Alisson stopped and Hugo Ekitike's disallowed goal for offside.
However, unfortunately for Marseille, there's added time in football...
When Liverpool were awarded a free kick from around 20 metres out, the Reds' fans probably instantly remembered Dominik Szoboszlai's spectacular winner against Arsenal in the Premier League last August.
Tonight, the Hungarian failed to unleash such a beautiful rocket, but still put the visitors in front with a clever and cheeky strike! For some reason, L'OM custodian Geronimo Rulli did not put a player lying down behind the wall - the so-called "draught excluder" or, more colloquially, "crocodile" - and Szobo took advantage of it, sliding the ball underneath the wall and finding the bottom-left corner of Marseille's goal just before the half-time whistle.
Very clever from Dominik Szoboszlai, who puts his free-kick under the wall, and past Geronimo Rulli.
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) January 21, 2026
Liverpool lead in Marseille. pic.twitter.com/D7sdASQF6A
The "invisible" Mason Greenwood showed himself for the first time in the 52nd minute, when Alisson superbly stopped his long-distance effort. During the following ten minutes, the rivals' wasted three chances in total, leaving the crowd in disbelief at how a second goal wasn't scored. Liverpool's Ekitike hit the post and Florian Wirtz was outsmarted by Rulli, while Marseille's Hamed Junior Traore fired it over the bar from a promising position.
When Timothy Weah missed another decent chance for the home team, Roberto De Zerbi realized he needed to send his most lethal offensive firepower to the pitch, subbing on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Igor Paixao in the 67th minute. At that point, the Ligue 1 side was much more dangerous, and Liverpool were at risk of gambling away the advantage again, just like they recently did against Burnley, Fulham, and Leeds in the EPL.
Still, all the Reds' fears were gone in the 72nd minute, when Jeremie Frimpong doubled their lead after a skillful solo run and with a slight help of L'OM defender Facundo Medina and keeper Rulli, off whom the ball deflected into the net. Cody Gakpo's 93rd-minute goal was the cherry on top of Arne Slot's team's terrific display.
Afterwards, De Zerbi's men went desperately for a consolation goal (at least), but at that point, it was too late. Their fourth defeat in the competition was confirmed, as was the 19th place ahead of the final round. On the other hand, Liverpool cemented their fourth spot, though their position in the TOP 8 isn't secured yet.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 7
Tuesday
Kairat Almaty - Club Brugge 1-4 (0-2)
/Sadybekov 90+2 - Stankovic 32, Vanaken 38, Vermant 74, Mechele 84/
Bodo/Glimt - Manchester City 3-1 (2-0)
/Hogh 22, 24, Hauge 58 - Cherki 60/
Copenhagen - Napoli 1-1 (0-1)
/Larsson 72 - McTominay 39/
Inter Milan - Arsenal 1-3 (1-2)
/Sucic 18 - Jesus 10, 31, Gyokeres 84/
Real Madrid - Monaco 6-1 (2-0)
/Mbappe 5, 26, Mastantuono 51, Kehrer 55 og, Vinicius Jr 63, Bellingham 81 - Teze 72/
Olympiacos - Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 (2-0)
/Costinha 2, Taremi 45+1/
Sporting Lisbon - PSG 2-1 (0-0)
/Suarez 74, 90+1 - Kvaratskhelia 79/
Tottenham - Dortmund 2-0 (2-0)
/Romero 14, Solanke 37/
Villarreal - Ajax 1-2 (0-0)
/Oluwaseyi 49 - Gloukh 61, Edvardsen 90/
Wednesday
Galatasaray - Atletico Madrid 1-1 (1-1)
/Llorente 20 og - Simeone 4/
Qarabag - Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 (1-1)
/Duran 4, 80, Mustafazade 90+4 - Uzun 11, Chaibi 78 pen/
Atalanta - Ath.Bilbao 2-3 (1-0)
/Scamacca 16, Krstovic 88 - Guruzeta 58, Serrano 70, Navarro 74/
Bayern - St.Gilloise 2-0 (0-0)
/Kane 52, 55 pen/
Chelsea - Paphos 1-0 (0-0)
/Caicedo 78/
Juventus - Benfica 2-0 (0-0)
/Thuram 55, McKennie 64/
Newcastle - PSV 3-0 (2-0)
/Wissa 8, Gordon 30, Barnes 65/
Olympique Marseille - Liverpool 0-3 (0-1)
/Szoboszlai 45+1, Rulli 73 og, Gakpo 90+3/
Slavia Praha - Barcelona 2-4 (2-2)
/Kušej 10, Lewandowski 44 og - Fermin 34, 42, Olmo 63, Lewandowski 71/
