October 25, (THEWILL) – Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain drew 0-0 in a Classique marred by crowd trouble on Sunday, capping off an incredible day of European football.
As some members of the Stade Velodrome crowd embarrassed themselves in front of the world, PSG players were pelted with bottles while attempting to take throws and corners.
Marseille had the game’s first big chance when Arkadiusz Milik rose highest to meet Dimitri Payet’s free-kick, but the Poland international was unable to keep his header on target.
Kylian Mbappe had the first few chances for PSG, but his first touch eluded him, and Pau Lopez was on hand to sweep up the Marseille area.
After 14 minutes, the visitors thought they had taken the lead when Angel Di Maria released Neymar into the channel, and the Brazilian’s cross-cum-shot was deflected in by Luan Peres of Marseille. After a lengthy VAR review, however, it was ruled out for offside.
Marseille also had a goal disallowed after Neymar and Nuno Mendes collided, with Pol Lirola picking out Milik with a low cross for him to tap home, but he was also offside.
With a header, Lionel Messi almost gave PSG the lead, and Lopez had to be at full stretch to deny the diminutive Argentine. Mbappe squared the ball to Neymar inside the six yard box, but the Brazilian was denied by Duje Caleta-Car with the goal gaping.
Cengiz Under slipped in one on one with Keylor Navas thanks to some sloppy PSG defending, but the former Leicester man could not keep his shot on target, and the Ligue 1 leaders were let off the hook.
When Payet received a rather large nudge from Danilo Pereira at the start of the second half, he claimed a penalty, but the referee was uninterested.
Just before the hour mark, PSG were reduced to ten men after Achraf Hakimi tripped up Under while through on goal.
The hosts piled on the pressure after that, with Valentin Rongier’s header going just wide of Navas’ goal, but PSG weathered the storm.
As the visitors struggled to work their way up the pitch, Messi was interrupted on a rare Parisiens attack by a pitch invader.
Marseille maintained control, and substitute Konrad de la Fuente should have broken the deadlock after sneaking past Thilo Kehrer at the far post, but the USMNT international scuffed his shot.
Matteo Guendouzi, on loan from Arsenal, had a curling effort easily saved by Navas in stoppage time as PSG clung on for a point in the French capital.
The draw meant PSG remained in first place in Ligue 1, seven points ahead of second-placed Lens, while Marseille climbed to fourth place. PSG will play Lille next, while Marseille will visit Nice.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
