Marseille’s women have begun the new Première Ligue campaign with the kind of momentum that changes expectations. Two league wins, a convincing pre-season and a rebuilt squad have given OM reason to look beyond survival and towards a place among the division’s leading sides.
A rapid rebuild under Nicolas Chabot
One year after returning to the top flight, Marseille have reshaped almost everything. Corinne Diacre has been replaced by Nicolas Chabot, the 31-year-old coach recently named the LFFP’s coach of the season after guiding Nantes to fourth place.
Chabot has overseen a major overhaul, with 17 players leaving and 15 arriving. The recruitment has mixed established top-level experience with younger talent, giving OM a deeper group than the side that finished ninth last season.
- Maëlle Garbino joined after her spell at Paris FC.
- Julie Thibaud arrived from Leicester.
- Claire Lavogez came in from Real Sociedad.
- Sonia Ouchene signed after Montpellier.
- Habibou Ouedraogo joined from ASEC Mimosas in Côte d’Ivoire.
Several players have also followed Chabot from Nantes, including Nelly Da Cruz Rodriguez, Maureen Cosson, goalkeeper Emily Burns and Louise Fleury. Fleury scored in the recent win over Lens.
Early wins revive top-four hopes
OM opened their league season with a 1-0 victory against Le Havre before beating Lens 2-1. It is the first time Marseille have won their opening two top-flight matches since 1981.
The club had already beaten Montpellier 3-0 away in the Coupe de la Ligue, adding further weight to an encouraging start. A senior figure in French women’s football had highlighted Marseille’s growing project while attending Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-1 Champions League win against Frankfurt on 2 September.
Stefano Petruzzo, Marseille’s general manager, said the club wants to improve on last term’s ninth-place finish while establishing a stable, competitive long-term structure.
“We want to build a lasting and competitive project, and gradually make OM one of the clubs that matters,” Petruzzo said. “Our ambition, both immediately and over time, is clear: to make the Marseille women’s team one that the city can be proud of.”
With Lyon and PSG expected to remain the reference points, the race beneath them appears open. Paris FC face the additional demands of Champions League football, Fleury have started poorly, Strasbourg may lack consistency, while Nantes have lost several important figures to Marseille.
That leaves a top-four finish — and a place in the end-of-season play-offs — as a realistic target by May 2027.
Montpellier test waits at La Mosson
Marseille return to Montpellier on Saturday at 21:00, only three weeks after their 3-0 cup success in the Hérault. Da Cruz Rodriguez insisted that result will have little bearing on the league meeting at La Mosson.
“We are approaching the match with a great deal of seriousness,” she said. “Beating them in the LFFP Cup three weeks ago means nothing for this game. It will be a different match, in a different setting, at La Mosson.”
It is an early test for a side seeking to turn promising recruitment into sustained league form. Marseille usually play in Martigues, but the club will return to the Vélodrome for one match during the 2026-27 campaign.
A growing crowd behind the project
There is already evidence that Marseille can draw a major audience when the occasion demands it. Their 2-1 home defeat to Montpellier on 28 March last season attracted 35,713 spectators, setting a new Première Ligue attendance record.
The return to the Vélodrome offers another chance to show the scale of the project. For Chabot’s new-look team, however, the immediate task is simpler: keep winning, starting with another demanding night in Montpellier.
