Paris Saint-Germain edged closer to the Ligue 1 title after defeating Olympique Marseille 2-1 in Le Classique on Sunday night.
Result: Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Marseille
Date: 17 April 2022
Venue: Parc de Princes
PSG made only one change from their thumping win over Clermont Foot, as Marquinhos replaced Sergio Ramos in the heart of defence while the fearsome front trio of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were retained.
Mauricio Pochettino's charges had a bright start as Neymar gave them the lead in the 12th minute with a poked finish at the back post after a dipping cross by Marco Verratti.
Marseille were up for challenge in a high intensity game and eventually found the equaliser on the half-hour mark after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made a howler from a corner which allowed Duje Caleta-Car to tap home a loose ball from a scramble on the goal-line.
However, OM were unlucky to concede a penalty on the stroke of half-time following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review after Valentin Roniger blocked Neymar's shot with his arm in the box.
Mbappe went up to take the spot-kick and restored the lead for PSG with a curling strike beyond the reach of goalkeeper Pau Lopez.
The sides could not maintain their high intensity in the early stages of the second stanza, more so Jorge Sampaoli's men, who could not threat Donnarumma in goal.
The Parisians, however, picked up their tempo in the last 20 minutes as Mbappe had a chance to make it 3-1 after a through ball over the top by Messi but Caleta-Car made a last-ditch tackle which deflected the French forward's strike wide.
Pochettino unlocked his midfield with an attacking change in the last ten minutes after Georginio Wijnaldum replaced Idrissa Gueye.
And that change almost proved costly, as William Saliba found the back of the net for Marseille five minutes later with a volley after a cross at the back post by Dimitri Payet but fortunately for PSG the goal was chalked off by the VAR for offside.
The Argentine tactician eventually closed shop with the introduction of Ramos in place of Verratti in the dying minutes, as the Ligue 1 leaders held on to stretch their lead at the top of over Marseille to 15 points.
