and Marseille’s players scuffle at the end of the French L1
football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Marseille (OM)
at the Parc de Princes stadium in Paris on September 13, 2020.
FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Marseille secured a first win over Paris Saint-Germain
in 21 matches as the Ligue 1 champions lost 1-0 on Sunday and had
Neymar sent off on his return from serving a Covid-19
quarantine.
Florian Thauvin scored the only goal on 31 minutes at the Parc
des Princes as Marseille earned a first victory over their bitter
rivals since November 2011 in a game which ended with five red
cards in injury time.
forward Neymar walks off the pitch after receiving a red cardFRANCK
FIFE / AFP
PSG, who lost the Champions League final to Bayern Munich last
month, have now lost their opening two games of a season without
scoring for the first time since 1978/79 and the task for Thomas
Tuchel’s coronavirus-afflicted side does not get any easier this
month.
A frenzied schedule awaits, starting with the visit of Metz in
midweek and a trip to Nice next Sunday, and Neymar now faces a
suspension for a slap on Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez in an
injury-time scuffle that resulted in five red cards.
The Brazilian appeared to accuse his opponent of racism as he
followed Layvin Kurzawa and Leandro Paredes down the tunnel after
he was sent off following a VAR review.
Argentine striker Dario Benedetto and left-back Jordan Amavi
were shown red cards for the visitors.
Marseille are attempting to close the gap on PSG after coming a
distant second last season and find themselves with an early
six-point advantage over a club that has won the title seven of the
past eight years.
After fielding a depleted line-up at Lens on Thursday, Tuchel
was able to recall Neymar and Angel Di Maria for a match played in
front of around 4,000 supporters in Paris.
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Dario Benedetto (L) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Argentinian
midfielder Leandro Paredes (2R) receive red cards at the end of the
French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and
Marseille (OM) at the Parc de Princes stadium in Paris on September
13, 2020. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
However, Kylian Mbappe remained absent after testing positive
for Covid-19 on France duty at the start of the week with Mauro
Icardi and Marquinhos also still missing.
PSG handed a debut to Italy international Alessandro Florenzi
following his arrival on a season-long loan from Roma while Sergio
Rico started in goal after rejoining on a long-term deal.
Marseille ‘keeper Steve Mandanda produced a magnificent reflex
to keep out an effort from Marco Verratti just a minute in as
tempers bubbled over frequently in the capital.
Thauvin, who shone in Marseille’s opening 3-2 win at Brest
before the international break, made the breakthrough when he
turned in a Dimitri Payet free-kick from point-blank range.
Di Maria found the net for PSG just past the hour but had
strayed clearly behind the last defender, and Marseille’s
celebrations were cut short in similar fashion moments later when a
Benedetto goal was ruled offside.
Marseille’s players scuffle at the end of the French L1 football
match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Marseille (OM) at the
Parc de Princes stadium in Paris on September 13, 2020. FRANCK FIFE
/ AFP
The Argentine rifled in a rebound after Rico parried from
Thauvin, who was controversially adjudged to be in an offside
position much to the frustration of Marseille.
PSG’s last goal came in the 3-0 win over RB Leipzig in the
Champions League semi-final on August 18, and Neymar poked wide
from a Pablo Sarabia cross before the contest turned ugly at the
finish.
AFP
