PSG clean up at the Ballon d’Or … while losing to Marseille in Ligue 1

On a night when Paris Saint-Germain were named the best team in the world, their centre-forward the best player in the world, and their man in the dugout the best manager in the world, they were second best at the Vélodrome, losing a league game in Marseille for the first time in 14 years.

The 21st night of September will live long in the memory of the Marseillais. It was the night that an apocalyptic deluge engulfed the city and the wider Var region, bringing the city to a standstill and forcing the postponement of the heavily anticipated classique. The sheer strength of the storm dispelled any notion of a wider anti-PSG conspiracy from the local authorities, who made the decision just hours before kick-off and after Luis Enrique’s side had already arrived in the city. PSG retraced their steps, returning to Paris and then making the trip back down south the following morning.

As per LFP rules, the game had to be held within 24 hours of the initial postponement, weather permitting. “The rule serves to avoid controversy,” said Marseille president Pablo Longoria after the club threatened legal action if it was not applied. Ultimately, it was, despite PSG’s desire for the game to be played at another time to avoid a clash with the Ballon d’Or ceremony, held in Paris at the same time as the match. “It is very bizarre,” said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who stayed in Paris to watch Ousmane Dembélé become the sixth Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or.

Marseille fans welcome PSG to the Vélodrome. Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters

The former Barcelona forward was joined at the ceremony by teammates João Neves and Désiré Doué, who, like Dembélé, are sidelined through injury. If there was a perfect time to face PSG, it was now, with Bradley Barcola also absent; between them, the quartet have scored eight of PSG’s 10 league goals this season.

Shorn of his key players, Luis Enrique opted for a back five on Monday night. It is an experiment he is unlikely to repeat any time soon. It left PSG struggling to progress the ball up the pitch. By the 55th minute, they had touched the ball just twice in the Marseille box; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Gonçalo Ramos, isolated and uninvolved, were nowhere to be seen.

The unfamiliarity with the system showed and Marseille pounced. In the Club World Cup final, Chelsea showed how to destabilise this PSG team; bravery, high intensity and high pressing are the key ingredients, and they were applied by Marseille to a similar effect.

At the same time as the Champions League winners were being named the best team in the world, they were being harried by a relentless Marseille side. The only goal of the game arrived in the fifth minute after some well executed pressing. Marseille forced a corner and Nayef Aguerd capitalised on a goalkeeping error from Lucas Chevalier to head home. Meanwhile, in Paris, the man he replaced, Gianluigi Donnarumma, was lifting the Yashin Trophy; the optics weren’t great.

PSG struggled to respond. Achraf Hakimi went closest with a shot from the edge of the box, which was well saved by Gerónimo Rulli, but Marseille kept PSG at arm’s length. The final whistle went and a curse lifted as Marseille beat PSG in a league game at the Vélodrome for the first time since November 2011; even with the caveats: the injuries, the delay and the tactical switch, the importance of the win cannot be understated for Marseille. They overcame PSG and an inferiority complex.

Marseille fans enjoy their 1-0 win against PSG. Photograph: Philippe Magoni/AP

“One of the reasons I wanted to come to Marseille was to beat PSG because they are stronger,” said Roberto De Zerbi after the match. “They represent power, and I don’t like that. Going through so many years almost without a real rival, I couldn’t stand for that in my philosophy.”

Rivalling them in one match is one thing – and an important step – but to do so over the course of the season is another entirely. Marseille have fallen short in both regards in recent times, and amid the euphoria, there is caution. “I have already threatened the players,” said De Zerbi. “They know that, if we beat PSG and then we arrive in flip-flops against Strasbourg, then we aren’t a big team.” More than PSG, inconsistency has been Marseille’s real enemy in recent years. It is a battle that De Zerbi must win if Marseille are to fight the power that is PSG.

Talking points

Monaco have been cautious with Ansu Fati and their prudence has paid off. The Spaniard – whose body has broken down in recent seasons – built up his fitness away from the squad this summer with Paul Pogba, another player looking to rediscover his rhythm. Fati made his Monaco debut last week and it was worth the wait. He came off the bench against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Thursday and scored a debut goal; and he did the same against Metz on Sunday, when he needed just 37 seconds to score his first goal in Ligue 1. Monaco won the match 5-2, with the Barcelona loanee scoring twice. Time will tell whether his remontada starts here. “You have to live in the moment, and the past doesn’t matter,” said Fati.

With PSG losing, there are now four teams at the top of the table on 12 points. Lyon bounced back after their defeat to Rennes ​last weekend, beating Angers 1-0 at home​. Strasbourg fans continued their protests against BlueCo and Chelsea-bound Emanuel Emegha as the team beat Paris FC ​3-2 in a thriller. ​The captain scored ​their crucial third goal and celebrated in front of the travelling Strasbourg fans, showing the name on the back of his shirt. The celebration was not a hit with everyone – many fans did not even ​acknowledge him. ​Despite the rancour, Liam Rosenior’s side are in the top four and look capable of staying there. Lille dropped down to fifth after losing 3-0 to Lens in the Derby du Nord. Florian Thauvin, who scored at a drenched Bollaert, has looked excellent since moving to Lens this summer. They are an outside shout for a European spot, especially given Nice’s continued struggles – they were hammered 4-1 by Brest on Saturday and have dropped to 12th in the table.

This is an article by Get French Football News