Match Reports
Le Classique: PSG cruise against OM
As far as these two teams are concerned, it's one of the biggest clashes of the Ligue 1 McDonald's calendar as Paris Saint-Germain hosted arch 'Classique' rivals Olympique de Marseille in the second clash between the two this season. After knocking out Liverpool in the Champions League, Les Parisiens were full of confidence but had a small blow when Gonçalo Ramos was announced absent from the match just before kick-off. Similarly for Les Phocéens, midfielder Ismaël Bennacer missed out at the last minute via injury, adding to Pierre-Emile Højbjerg's absence in the middle of the park for Roberto De Zerbi's side.
Les Parisiens came on strongly with the first chance of the game as Nuno Mendes tested Geronimo Rulli with a shot from just outside the box, after OM had initially dealt well with the high PSG press. The hosts would then get the opening goal of the Classique, as Ousmane Dembélé was fed in behind the backline and bore down on goal with blistering pace. The in-form Frenchman then skipped past an on-rushing Rulli, turning past the Argentinian before finishing decisively into an open net with a lofted finish (16').
De Zerbi's side grew into the game despite the initial struggles and had a decent spell of possession near the half, winning the ball high with Nadir breaking through at times but not quite providing the final ball when needed most. A huge chance then came the way of PSG as Mendes burst down the left-hand side and provided a dangerous cross which was cleared by a combination of Leonardo Balerdi and Luiz Felipe. But PSG would show once again why they are one of the most dangerous and efficient attacks in Europe right now as Fabian Ruiz was played through on goal and provided a cross for Mendes to double the lead for the hosts (41').
Le Classique was 🔥 pic.twitter.com/gZ78kwBPni
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) March 16, 2025
The second half then started perfectly for De Zerbi's side. Mendes' backpass was intercepted by Adrien Rabiot, and the Frenchman closed down the angle on the goal and played a square ball for Amine Gouiri to finish and lift his side back into the game (50'). From here Marseille were looking to get back on level terms and were making good progress until substitute Pol Lirola met Achraf Hakimi's searching cross, netting an own goal which effectively killed off the contest at the Parc des Princes in the final ten minutes.
The Stat: 7
PSG have now won seven straight matches in Ligue 1 McDonald's, their second-best run under Luis Enrique in the competition.
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