Marseille made it seven successive Ligue 1 home wins for the first time in more than 10 years, after beating early league leaders Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to end the French and European champions’ 100% start to the season.
In a fixture that was taking place almost 24 hours later than planned due to adverse weather, PSG found themselves behind inside four minutes.
Mason Greenwood’s corner was punched away by Lucas Chevalier, but the visitors were unable to clear their lines, ultimately allowing the Englishman to play a ball to the far post.
There was an element of fortune to the finish, as the ball deflected off Willian Pacho for Nayef Aguerd to nod in, but Chevalier should have done much better in attempting to thwart the Moroccan.
The atmosphere was deafening, but PSG gradually settled into the contest, although Marseille captain Leonardo Balerdi was not punished for two lapses in concentration.
Vitinha had the visitors’ first chance of note on 17 minutes, stinging the palms of Geronimo Rulli, but from that point until half-time, they rarely threatened the Marseille goal, and could have gone 2-0 down when a swift break culminated in Amine Gouiri rattling the crossbar, before the tireless Emerson Palmieri’s effort was ruled out for offside in the build-up against Benjamin Pavard, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia subsequently curling wide at the other end.
It was more of the same for PSG after the restart, with plentiful possession not leading to the creation of many clear-cut opportunities – though Rulli’s low save to tip Achraf Hakimi’s strike behind was a fleeting moment of interest in that frustrating period.
Another Vitinha sighter then worried Marseille’s goalkeeper slightly, but it was a sign of how compact the hosts were that Enrique’s men were resorting to shots from range.
Deprived of Bradley Barcola, Désire Doué, João Neves and Ousmane Dembele all through injury, Enrique, named men’s coach of the year at tonight’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, threw on Lee Kang-in and teenager Senny Mayulu to try and force a comeback, while Greenwood was unable to make the game safe on 81 minutes, overrunning the ball when put through by substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who soon saw his penalty claim waved away before being denied by Chevalier in stoppage time.
In a fiery ending to the match, Enrique’s opposite number Roberto De Zerbi was sent off after remonstrating with referee Jérôme Brisard, but Marseille held on to move up to sixth after their first win in the last 10 editions of Le Classique.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Emerson Palmieri (Marseille)