Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Marseille: Neymar strike secures Classique victory
Following a 1-0 victory over 10-man Marseille, Neymar’s ninth goal of the season lifted Paris Saint-Germain three points clear at the top of Ligue 1.
The strike in first-half stoppage time by the Brazil international was enough to settle the Classique, as PSG registered 23 shots on goal in a well-deserved victory at Parc des Princes.
Marseille’s Samuel Gigot was sent off for a risky push on Neymar, leading to the visitors’ first away defeat of the season.
Meanwhile, Christophe Galtier’s team extended their league unbeaten record to 20 games, their longest in the French top division since playing 21 games without defeat between May 2018 and January 2019.
Marseille had Pau Lopez to thank for keeping PSG at bay early in the first half, as he stopped Lionel Messi twice inside the first four minutes, while also denying Achraf Hakimi when Kylian Mbappe picked him out less than 60 seconds later.
Lopez then reacted quickly to tip over Mbappe’s deflected 25-yard effort, before Messi’s ferocious free-kick rocked the crossbar.
However, the hosts broke the tie soon before the break. Amine Harit was stripped of possession by Marco Verratti before Vitinha and Mbappe combined to set up Neymar, whose first-time shot went in off the post.
Marseille came close to equalizing early in the second half, with Jonathan Clauss grabbing onto Alexis Sanchez’s lofted throughball and beating Gianluigi Donnarumma with quick reflexes.
At the other end, Verratti and Mbappe almost doubled the lead, but Gigot’s hopes of salvaging a point were ultimately destroyed 18 minutes from time when he was awarded a straight red card for rashly knocking out Neymar.
Later on, Messi was just off target with an attempted dink from Mbappe’s throughball, but PSG held on to take the lead in Ligue 1.
What does it imply? PSG’s dominance in Marseille continues.
PSG has now won 21 of their last 26 games with Marseille in all competitions, losing only once.
Meanwhile, Igor Tudor’s side has suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time in a year.
Neymar is ranked ninth.
Neymar, the joint-top scorer in Ligue 1, increased his domestic tally for the season to nine goals (level with Jonathan David).
After scoring just once in his first six games versus Marseille, the Brazil international has already scored in his past two top-flight matches in the Classique.
Lopez has set a new record.
Despite being on the losing side, the result for Marseille could have been much worse but for Lopez’s performance.
The goalkeeper made a number of spectacular stops to keep PSG at bay, with his final count of eight being the most he has made in a Ligue 1 game.
Important Opta Facts
- Paris Saint-Germain are unbeaten in their past 33 home games in all competitions (W27 D6), the second-longest streak in club history, trailing only their 51 games from April 2016 to February 2018. (W42 D9).
- Marseille have lost two consecutive Ligue 1 games for the first time since September-October 2021, and as many as they had in their previous 15 games (W11 D2).
- There were 41 shots in the encounter, the most in a Ligue 1 game since Lyon over Metz in January 2021. (also 41).
- Lionel Messi of PSG has struck the crossbar 14 times in Ligue 1 since the start of the previous season, at least four more than any other player.
What comes next?
PSG will seek to continue their winning streak away at Ajaccio on Friday, while Marseille will look to rebound when they visit Lens the following day.
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