Paris, October 17 / BNA / Neymar scored his ninth goal in the French League this season to lead Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Marseille in the biggest match of French football.
Paris Saint-Germain achieved its ninth victory in 11 league matches, and was undefeated after this season, to move three points away from Lorient at the top of the standings. Marseille fell to a second consecutive loss and slipped to fourth place, six points behind Paris Saint-Germain, the Associated Press reported.
Only Lille striker Jonathan David has scored the same number of goals as Neymar in Ligue 1 this season. Neymar also provided seven assists.
The Brazilian striker broke the scoring in stoppage time in the first half at the conclusion of a counter-attack.
After the injury, Lionel Messi hit the crossbar and blended in well with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe throughout the match with the ‘MNM’ combination that created many break opportunities in a vital match at the Parc des Princes.
Marseille were well organized and kept pressing even after being reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when Samuel Gigot was sent off for a late tackle on Neymar.
PSG could have won by a larger margin, but Marseille goalkeeper Pau Lopez saved eight saves to keep his side in the game.
The game known as “Le Classique” became popular between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille during the 1990s when the entry into the French League for stars such as Rudi Voller and Georges Weah sparked a fierce rivalry.
But Marseille, the only French team to win the Champions League in 1993, has fallen behind since Qatari investors took over PSG in 2011.
However, the southern French club is enjoying a strong revival under coach Igor Theodor and has been hoping for its first win over PSG in two years.
The match started at a high pace with Paris Saint-Germain immediately in control.
Messi tested Lopez twice, before Achraf Hakimi lost his confrontations with the Marseille goalkeeper. Lopez was decisive again in the 19th century to prevent Mbappe’s low shot from blocking it to his right side.
At 28, Neymar found Mbappe behind the defense and forced World Cup winner Lopez to clear the ball with his powerful left hand.
PSG continued to push and was rewarded with a free kick on the edge of the penalty area after Messi fell. The former Barcelona player hit the free kick and hit the crossbar. Lopez did not move.
Marseille waited for the openers and stuck to their game plan with a high press. He finally cracked at the end of the first half when Amin Harit gave the ball wide in his own half. Vitina launched a quick counterattack, finding Mbappe Neymar in a penalty kick. The Brazilian striker puts the ball at the post outside the post.
Marseille struggled hard for the equalizer, with good efforts from Chancel Mbemba and Jonathan Klaus who were rejected by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
No whitening effect
Laurent Blanc could not change Lyon’s fortunes in his first match.
The former Bordeaux and Paris Saint-Germain coach was appointed last week as a replacement for Peter Boss with the task of getting the seven-time champion back on track.
But his arrival didn’t produce an immediate impact, and Lyon lost 3-2 to Rennes to extend his current winless run to six matches.
Lyon started the season with big ambitions, aiming to qualify for the Champions League, but won only four out of 11 league matches so far.
Striker Alexandre Lacazette scored two goals for Lyon, but his brace was not enough to compensate for the team’s defensive weaknesses.
“When you concede three goals, you need to score four, that’s too much,” said Blanc. “And the players didn’t come back on the field with enough concentration after the first half, so I’m very upset.”
Rennes winger Martin Terrier also scored two goals against his former team, bringing his tally this season to seven goals. And his brilliant header from Adrian Travert’s cross in the 77th minute sealed his team’s sixth win this season. Amin Al-Juweiri scored the other goal for Rennes.
The 56-year-old has succeeded during his previous stints at French clubs, winning the league title in 2009 with Bordeaux when he ended Lyon’s long reign, then he took charge of Paris Saint-Germain three times from 2014 to 2016.
Elsewhere, Nantes exited the relegation zone with a 4-1 win over last-placed Brest and Toulouse over Angers 3-2. Ajaccio drew 1-1 in Troy and Auxerre drew 1-1 at home to Nice.
Soon the number was reduced to 10 against Claremont at home, and Monaco broke the score through a penalty kick by Brielle Empolo at the half hour mark but could not maintain their lead. Komnen Andric equalized in the second half, with a 1-1 draw.
And second-placed Lorient missed, on Saturday, the opportunity to move to the top of the league after drawing 0-0 with Reims, consisting of 10 players, at home.