A Thrilling Le Classique Displays France’s Flux In Dominance
There was nothing short of thrills at the Parc des Princes for the first round of Le Classique between Paris St Germain and Olympique de Marseille.
Marcelo Biela’s men came into the first half with plenty of aggressive chances, forcing the PSG defences to panic – fortunately the Parisians can owe some brilliant defending to Thiago Silva and David Luiz for sacrificing themselves in front of goal.
Along the wing Serge Aurier, the new Ivory Coast defender influx with Gregory Van Der Wiel for a starting position, had dominated possession for Paris to initiate attacks for Lavazzi as well as down the middle for Cavani.
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The brilliance of Laurent Blanc’s system always utilizes the ultra attacking style of full backs, whose pace and precise passing skills only make the Paris attack more fierce.
Marseille’s Andre Ayew was suspended from the match, leaving the midfield to attack in his place, alongside top goal scorer, Andre Pierre Gignac. Dimitri Payet had a few solo runs, penetrating the Paris defense, but not striking enough damage.
Some moments of threat were created by midfielder, Romain Alessandrini with his lethal left strikes – yet , again, it wasn’t enough to get past one of Ligue 1’s best keepers, Salvatore Sirigu.
Until the 34th minute, Marseille had some stunning chances, barreling down the home sides half to draw first blood.
Yet Paris’ untouched chemistry in attack between Ezequiel Lavazzi, Edinson Cavani and finally a slide in to Lucas Moura opened scoring for Les Bleus. The first half closed in favour of the home side.
Marseille came out in the second half with the same aggressive intentions. Many of which saw plenty of players from each side suffering yellow cards or warnings from potential injuries.
The drama escalated to a questionable red given to midfielder Giannelli Imbula for a reckless tackle against Yohan Cabaye.
Although his tackle in retrospect looked to be performed outside of the intention of retrieving the ball, the decision on part of the referee was very questionable.
Marcelo Biesla’s face filled rage and continued to watch his club suffer as many calls in the second half were in favour of the Parsians.
Regardless, Marseille were entering the minutes in the second half where Paris tend to soar. Paris have always been a club whose momentum builds as a match continues, and in the 70th minute, their talisman re appeared on the pitch.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his 100th club appearance tonight,unfortunately without concluding it with a goal. One goal could have brought Zlatan farther into PSG’s history for being the Le Classique top scorer for the club.
Yet his influence alongside in form Lucas and Cavani only invigorated the spirits of the team. He created plenty of chances from the midfield, a place where Imbula would have continued to dominate, were it not for his red card.
Zlatan did not re enter the Parc des Princes with a goal or a hopeful broken record, but he did assist a brilliant creation between Serge Aurier and Cavani to put Paris 2-0, crumbling the legs of Marseille.
The last ten minutes of the match went into over drive as Marseille desperately defended the powerful Paris front-line, but also challenged for a goal of their own.
Biesla’s men had a brilliant first half, they were unlucky to sink a goal at that.
Yet Paris’ outstanding performance in the second half prove that Marseille still have one of the most difficult rivals in France to beat.
Paris stand only 1 point behind Marseille in Ligue 1 after the match, making their next two Ligue 1 matches critical for climbing the ladder.
With Zlatan back and the entire attacking force in impeccable form, the club have a lot to look foreword too.
Revons Plus Grand!