Neymar’s solitary first-half goal secured the points in Le Classique, as PSG opened up a healthy gap to Marseille at the top of Ligue 1.
The PSG faithful are used to more goal-laden evenings at Parc des Princes, but they will take a gritty 1-0 win over Marseille. The Ligue 1 leaders stretched their advantage at the top as they secured a vital victory over Marseille in the Le Classique.
The game began brightly for both sides, but PSG seemed like the team likely to make their chances count. After an entertaining period, Neymar stuck at the cusp of half-time to give the home side the advantage. A brilliant one-two with Kylian Mbappe set the strike up, with the Brazilian international making no mistake from close range.
A doubt before the game, Lionel Messi set the tone in the second half, forcing Pau Lopez to save twice in under five minutes. Marseille then ran into trouble with 20 minutes to play, as Samuel Gigot had a rash moment in tackling Neymar and received his marching orders.
PSG were then unable to break the visitors down despite the numerical advantage. In the end, the home side secured their three points and continued their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season. The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Christophe Galtier’s men.
πΆβ€οΈπ#PSGOM I #LeClassique pic.twitter.com/EblsDPIMhN
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) October 16, 2022
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6/10
A confident performance from the Italian international, who showed safe hands and a commanding display in the box. Donnarumma was not particularly challenged many times, but he remained alert to potential danger.
Achraf Hakimi: 4/10
Hakimi continued his indifferent start to the season, as he was wasteful in the final third. The right-back should have scored in the early stages, and he failed to create good chances when given the license.
Marquinhos: 6.5/10
Marquinhos struggled to cope with the new shape early on but settled in as the game progressed. He was strong in the face of a few threats the Marseille attackers posed but did generally fine.
Danilo Pereira: N/A
Danilo Pereira was forced off with an injury early in the game, adding to the growing list of absentees for PSG.
Juan Bernat: 5/10
Bernat took a conservative approach, keeping his focus on defensive matters. With Hakimi tasked with attacking duties on the other flank, the Spaniard at left-back seemed content with sitting deep.
Fabian Ruiz: 6.5/10
Ruiz made up for his lack of creativity with a gritty midfield display. The central areas were contested intensely, and the Spanish midfielder played his part well.
πππ«ππ¨ πππ«π«ππππ’ is playing in his 20th #Classique π Marseille for Paris Saint-Germain!
A record for an outfield player pic.twitter.com/ChttEzbnwM
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) October 16, 2022
Marco Verratti: 7/10
Verratti was the heartbeat of the PSG midfield with a tight performance against a competitive side. There were some sharp tackles on display, and the Italian international remains the most important influencer in the middle of the park for PSG.
Vitinha: 5/10
Unlike his midfield partners, Vitinha thoroughly struggled to get into the game. He did find things easy as the game progressed, especially after Marseille went a man down.
Lionel Messi: 7/10
Messi was an injury doubt before the game but showed no signs of any potential problem as he orchestrated the attacking side of things. For some reason, he could neither provide an assist nor score a goal, but he proved he remains a vital threat up front.
This trio β€οΈπ pic.twitter.com/pF33WDxyxc
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) October 16, 2022
Kylian Mbappe: 7/10
A good performance like this one will help in a big way to undo some of the controversial moments from the past week. Mbappe put in a good display, and his one-two with Neymar yielded the all-important goal from the Brazilian.
Neymar: 8/10
Neymar continued his impressive start to the season with a match-winning performance. The Brazilian attacker scored the game’s all-important goal at the cusp of half-time and remained a threat throughout the match.
Another Neymar goal, another Neymar dance πΊ pic.twitter.com/W0Re021ZsL
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 16, 2022
SUBSTITUTES
Nordi Mukiele: 6/10
Mukiele replaced Danilo Pereira early in the first half and put in a composed display supporting Marquinhos to earn a clean sheet.
Pablo Sarabia: 5/10
Sarabia was brought in to provide fresh legs and give Messi some rest as Marseille laboured through after going a man down.
Carlos Soler: N/A
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
