This Sunday evening, Paris Saint-Germain won 0-3 (video summary OM/PSG) against Olympique de Marseille on Matchday 9 of Ligue 1 2024-2025 at the Stade Vélodrome. Here are our top and bottom stories.
Tops –
Paris quickly got into their stride
Some will argue that the match was stolen by the referee, but from what PSG showed even before the red card, OM weren’t there and PSG had something to do with it. A great start to the match, a goal, Marseille unable to get the ball out and the ascendancy was already total. In the battle of the “best teams”, PSG nonetheless showed their superiority.
Pacho
Intractable in this match, he’s getting stronger and stronger. Perfectly balanced with a very good Marquinhos, he pulled off his first classic and kept the Marseille strikers at bay. Another great performance from him, which is becoming commonplace, and we can already put him in the category of successful recruits.
Hakimi
The Parisian full-back, who is also a striker and winger under Luis Enrique, was a real handful for Marseille. His calls and runs were invaluable, and if the other Parisians, Barcola or Ruiz in particular, had been more skilful, he would have been credited with a number of assists.
He made no secret of the fact that, although he was somewhat orphaned by Dembélé (who was rather axial on Sunday evening), he played his role as leader on the pitch to perfection.
Luis Enrique
He was eagerly awaited, especially in a match that every fan wants to win, and he didn’t fail to deliver. A composition that was assumed, with Dembélé free in the center of the pitch, leaving Lee Kang-in on the right flank.
And the Les Bleus winger played his role of orchestra conductor to perfection. Luis Enrique was able to manage game time, after a successful performance from A to Z, even if, once again, his team should have been more realistic.
Flops –
Efficiency still a problem
PSG know how to create chances, whether against Arsenal, PSV or OM tonight. There’s no doubting this team’s heart and attacking ideas. But we can remain frustrated at times by the number of misses in front of the opposing goal.
Barcola missed another great chance, as did Ruiz, and others could have been scored on Sunday. Paris had everything it needed to win 4/5 or with 6 goals on Sunday, and against OM that would have had an impact. That’s something we need to work on.
A victory marred by controversy
The Parisians were promised hell, but it didn’t happen. The championship was predicted to be complicated (and it’s not over yet, so it may yet be), but this match gives PSG the lead, the breathing space, in a Ligue 1 they dominate without any real difficulty.
Then there was the red card, harsh or not, it doesn’t detract from the fact that PSG had the upper hand in the match, and that’s a shame, because the narrow-minded analyses of our beloved media will play down the superiority of the Parisian team.
Especially since the referee confirmed that Marquinhos had been spiked and that this was the reason for his decision to send off Harit. You can see it clearly on the images: he gives a yellow, notices the visible wounds on Marquinhos’ torso and changes his card to red. No matter how many people ask him why he didn’t look at the VAR, he can retort that no-one has the images of Marquinhos’ body to back up his decision to send Harit off.
