A boiling classic. Because for the first time in a long time, it was an OM who were at the top of the rankings who hosted PSG at the Orange Vélodrome. It was also the first confrontation between two master tacticians, Roberto De Zerbi and Luis Enrique, who ultimately did not go crazy with their team compositions. Classic, the two eleven were, in line with the latest outings. With a little subtlety on the Parisian side, since it was Ousmane Dembélé who took on the highly contested role of false number 9, thus leaving the right lane to Kang-In Lee.
It was the Parisians who dominated the start of the match, with superior technical quality. It was going quickly, too quickly for the Marseillais who conceded a goal in the 7th minute. Burst from Nuno Mendes served by Barcola, cross in front of the goal, Rulli who pushes back and the ball returned to João Neves who just had to push the ball into the back of the net (0-1, 7th). Showered, the Olympians tried to react, but mainly ran after the ball. And it got worse a few minutes later. Harit intervened late on Marquinhos. After a moment of hesitation, the referee Mr. Letexier decided to sanction him with a direct red card, quite severe. This undermined the Marseillais even more and somewhat ruined the scenario of the meeting.
A useless second period
And since this was turning into a nightmare for OM, we might as well go all out. On an almost harmless cross from Hakimi, Balerdi diverted the ball into his own goal while Rulli was out of the cages (0-2, 28th). The ordeal was not yet over. Dembélé tumbled, crossed his shot. The ball returned to his feet despite the presence of Kondogbia, and he was able to calmly offer an easy goal to Barcola (0-3, 40th). For the Marseille supporters, it was too much, and some decided to leave the stadium even before half-time.
Returning from the locker room, De Zerbi made two changes with the exits of Greenwood and Wahi, for Rowe and Koné. But that did not change the nature of the match, which turned into an exercise in ball conservation for PSG, sitting on this comfortable lead. Luis Enrique took the opportunity to rest his executives, and he took out Nuno Mendes, then Barcola and Zaire-Emery. Fabian Ruiz and Désiré Doué could have increased the score with more precision. The Olympians just seemed determined not to concede another goal, while PSG played at a slow pace. Two ingredients that made up the recipe for a soothing second period.
