Paris Saint-Germain moved three points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table after edging Olympique Marseille 1-0 in Le Classique on Sunday evening.
Ligue 1
Result: Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Olympique Marseille
Date: 16 October 2022
Venue: Parc des Princes
PSG made two changes from their 1-1 draw against Benfica in the UEFA Champions League, as Lionel Messi returned from injury to join Kylian Mbappe and Neymar upfront while Fabian Ruiz replaced the suspended Sergio Ramos at centre-back.
The Parisians had an early chance after Messi latched onto a loose ball in the box but his low shot drew a reflex save from goalkeeper Pau Lopez.
Christophe Galtier's charges were all over Marseille, who were back pedaling but the hosts had to alter their centre-back pairing on 22 minutes after Danilo Pereira got injured and he was replaced by Nurdi Mukiele.
OM, however, opened themselves up on transitions as they tried to get out of their defensive shell and were fortunate not to go 1-0 down ten minutes before the interval after Messi's curled free-kick came off the underside of the crossbar.
PSG eventually punished Marseille from a counter-attack on the stroke of half-time after Mbappe freed up Neymar through on goal and the Brazilian broke the deadlock with a composed finish past Lopez.
Igor Tudor had the urgency going forward coming from the break and Amine Harit had a chance to level matters after he dribbled his way towards the box but his stinging shot was repelled by shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Marseille continued with their momentum, as they kept PSG busy in their own half but the Parisians dealt with their threats, as they did not give away chances.
The Parisians upped their game in the latter phase and OM could not deal with their pace as they were reduced to ten men 18 minutes before time after Samuel Gigot received a straight red-card for a bad tackle on Neymar.
The game was on the edge in the closing stages, as Marseille were not discouraged by being a man down and Galtier withdrew Messi in the last ten minutes and brought on Pablo Sarabia for fresh legs upfront.
Neymar was also rested by PSG in the dying minutes as he was replaced by Carlos Soler and the Parisians stood firm in the tail end to secure a narrow win that extended their lead at the top of the log by three points.
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