PSG ON THE BRINK OF LEAGUE 1 TITLE AFTER SCORING MARSEILLE AT PARC DES PRINCES.
In the 85th edition of Le Classique in Ligue 1 play, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Olympique Marseille 2-1 at the Parc des Princes, seeing the capital club extend their impressive recent record in Le Classique to ten wins in their last twelve meetings with their rivals.
The two sides appeared to be at a stalemate in the first 15 minutes, but PSG’s individual quality broke the deadlock. A perfectly weighted Marco Verratti ball over the top found Neymar in behind, who somehow managed to connect with a first time shot and lob Pau López, and give the Parisians an early lead. Les Olympiens responded well by piling the pressure on the home side, and it did not take long for them to restore parity. After a failed attempted punch-clearance by Gianluigi Donnarumma, Duje Ćaleta-Car bundled the ball home from point-blank range, leveling the scoreline just past the half-hour mark.
The hosts were given a chance to reclaim their lead with the last kick of the first half however, when a VAR check revealed a Neymar shot deflecting off of the hand of Valentin Rongier, forcing the referee to award PSG a penalty-kick. Kylian Mbappé took full advantage and dispatched from the spot, giving PSG 2-1 lead at the break.
The second half produced more yellow-cards than high quality scoring chances as the temper of the players began to boil over. However, Marseille’s need to pull themselves back into the game left a lot of space in behind for the talented attacking force of PSG. Luckily for the visitors, the ‘MNM’ trio struggled to find their shooting boots and were unable to extend their lead. William Saliba appeared to have the ball in the back of the net to rescue a point for the visitors five minutes from full time, but a VAR review showed the play to be marginally offside, rescuing PSG’s victory.
Marseille will be disappointed to see their four game winning streak come to an end at the hands of their rivals, as it was their longest streak since 2020. However, a loss in Paris is no surprise given their miserable recent record at the Parc des Princes.
