Neymar’s ninth goal of the season gave Paris Saint-Germain a three-point lead at the Ligue 1 summit after beating Marseille 1-0.
A Brazilian player’s stoppage-time strike in the first half was enough to equalize in the Classic as PSG landed 23 shots on goal, a well-deserved triumph at the Parc des Princes.
Marseille sent off Samuel Gigot for a dangerous challenge to Neymar as the visitors suffered their first away defeat of the season.
Meanwhile, Christophe Galtier’s team extended their unbeaten streak to 20 matches, their longest streak in France’s top flight from 21 games unbeaten between May 2018 and January 2019.
A bit of Brazilian magic in the first half #PSGOM | #Leclassique pic.twitter.com/UASVdUD6Vs
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) October 16, 2022
Marseille had to thank Pau López for keeping PSG at bay early in the first half as he denied Lionel Messi twice in the first four minutes and also blocked Ashraf Hakimi after Kylian Mbappe chose a defender less than 60 seconds later.
López then showed remarkable reflexes to tip over Mbappe’s deflected 25-yard shot before Messi’s furious free-kick shook the crossbar.
But the hosts broke the deadlock shortly before the break. Marco Verratti robbed Amine Harita of the ball before Vitinha and Mbappe teamed up to set up Neymar, whose first shot hit the post.
Marseille came close to equalizing early in the second half, with Jonathan Clauss grabbing Alexis Sanchez’s pass and Gianluigi Donnarumma showing smart reflexes.
Verratti and Mbappe almost doubled the lead at the other end, but the visitors’ hopes of saving the point were effectively dashed 18 minutes before Gigot received a straight red card for Neymar’s reckless defeat.
Later, Messi missed slightly due to Mbappe’s attempted through shot, but PSG held their own and came out on top in Ligue 1.
What does it mean? PSG continue to lead at Marseille
PSG have won 21 of their last 26 encounters with Marseille in all competitions, losing just once in that time.
Meanwhile, the team of Igor Tudor for the first time in a year suffered a defeat in a row in the top division.
Number nine for Neymar
One of the top scorers in Ligue 1, Neymar brought his internal score to nine goals (at the level of Jonathan David).
The Brazil international has now scored in his last two top-flight matches in Classique after scoring just one goal in his first six matches against Marseille.
Record for Lopez
Although he was on the losing side, the score could have been much worse for Marseille if not for López’s performance.
The goalkeeper made a series of impressive saves to keep PSG largely at bay, and his eight-point final score was the highest he had recorded in a Ligue 1 game.
What’s next?
PSG will look to build on their momentum away at Ajaccio on Friday, while Marseille have a chance to bounce back when they host Lance the following day.