The Marseille – PSG match had everything a proper derby needs to have: a packed, sell out stadium, two great teams, a fantastic support from the home fans, unmatched in Ligue 1, torches, flairs being thrown at Neymar, high tempo, good chances, red card… everything but the goals. Olympique had a great chance to win at home against PSG who played last 30 minutes with a man down, after Hahimi was red carded, but the home team just couldn’t do it. A fantastic support from the stands didn’t rub off the players and in terms of league title, this draw was PSG’s victory. Messi and co. are now 7 points clear of second placed Lens, while Marseille is fourth, 10 points behind the Parisians.32 – The Ligue 1 head-to-head record between Marseille and Paris is perfectly balanced, with 32 wins for each side and 19 draws. Classic.#OMPSG pic.twitter.com/4YzafGhacs— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 24, 2021 Mauricio Pochettino was brave enough to come to Marseille with all his ‘big guns’ in the starting 11: Messi, Neymar, Mbappe and Di Maria, and PSG dominated in the first half with 4 shots on target. Two goals were actually scored in the first half, both by Olympique. First it was Peres in the 14th minute with an effective own goal, and then 7 minutes later, Milik scored on the opposite side of the pitch, but both goals were nullified due to offside. In the 26nd minute, a rare sight was seen at the Velodrome: Messi’s header! The Argentinian used Saliba’s deflection to shoot at Lopez, but home keeper made a great save. Marseille keeper Lopez was also proactive, like in the 32nd minute, when he rushed out of his goal to deal with a PSG counter. He cleared the ball just before Di Maria got there.Achraf Hakimi bu pozisyonda direkt kırmızı kart gördü pic.twitter.com/cvgDoZYC14— José (@CifuenCharcopa) October 24, 2021 Second half was also exciting, and it started with Aschraf Hakimi’s straight red card in the 57th minute after a challenge on Under, as the last man in defense. Di Maria was substituted, as PSG already had enough creative players on the pitch. Marseille went a bit more offensive, and Rongier almost scored in the 65th minute, but his powerful header went just off the bar. After that, we saw a couple of half-chances for Marseille, but nothing worth commenting. A great chance for victory was obviously missed by Olympique and they are now facing a tough trip to Nice next week.LIGUE 1 – ROUND 11FridaySaint-Etienne – Angers 2-2 (0-1)/Khazri 61, Nade 90+3 – Traore 28, Fulgini 56/SaturdayNantes – Clermont 2-1 (1-0)/Girotto 28, Blas 61 – Bayo 49/Lille – Brest 1-1 (1-1)/David 19 – Faivre 32/SundayNice – Olympique Lyon 3-2 (0-1)/Atal 81, Delort 89 pen, Guessand 90+1 – Ekambi 35, Aouar 68/Rennes – Strasbourg 1-0 (0-0)/Aguerd 82/Reims – Troyes 1-2 (1-1)/Abdelhamid 6 – Balde 41, Chavalerin 65/Lens – Metz 4-1 (2-1)/Said 14,37, Ganago 83, Frankowski 90 – Preville 33/Lorient – Bordeaux 1-1 (0-0)/Laporte 76 – Elis 46/Monaco – Montpellier 3-1 (2-0)/Volland 12, Ben Yedder 17, Martins 61 – Savanier (p) 81/Olympique Marseille – PSG 0-0
