Expectations from Marseille were high in light of the streak of successes and the victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the cup, but tonight (Sunday) the French champions proved that the gaps are still large when they dismantled their bitter rival 0:3 at the Stade Velodrome and increased their advantage at the top to eight points at the end of the 25th round. Monaco III was defeated 3:0 in the derby by Nice. Reims continued her amazing run, Ran back to fifth place, important wins at the bottom of Leuquer and Ajax.
Marseille – Paris Saint-Germain 3:0
Two and a half weeks after the 2:1 loss at the Stade Velodrome and elimination in the round of 16 of the Cup, Paris Saint-Germain returned to the scene of the crime and closed the account in a perfect way. This time, unlike the cup game, Kylian Mbappe was fit and together with Lionel Messi abused the defense of the second-placed team, which suffered greatly from the absence of the injured Samuel Zigo and the yellowing Chancel Mbamba. The top scorer of the league (17 this season) celebrated a pair of two assists by Messi and reached 200 goals in a PSG uniform – like Edinson Cavani’s club record, which he will overtake soon. The Argentine world champion also recorded an impressive milestone, with his 700th club career goal (from Mbappe’s assist) which was his first in the French Clasico, after not scoring or assisting in the previous four games against Marseille.
Despite the early injury of Presnel Kimpamba and the fact that the fans from Paris were not allowed to attend the game, the champion’s game plan worked perfectly. Christophe Galtier returned to the three-brake formation that was successful at the beginning of the season and his team relied on the speed of Mbappe and deadly bursts under the direction of Messi. If it weren’t for a horrendous inaccuracy, the first half could have ended with a crushing five, and on the other hand, Gianluigi Donnarumma prevented Marseille from shrinking in the last half hour. The gap at the top increased again to eight points and the Parisians are on their way to the 11th championship which will make them the sole record holders of the French league.
the progress of the game
5th minute: Mbappe lifted from the left, Fabian deflected and the ball made a high arc towards the goal, where Pau Lopes was ready and headed for the corner.
13th minute: Kimpamba was injured while dropping to the defense to stop a Marseille attack, he needed treatment and the medical team immediately signaled a substitution. The brakeman, who came back from a serious injury, was taken down on a stretcher and Danilo took his place.
25th minute: Goal! Messi sent a smart pass to Mbappe, who in front of the goalkeeper did not fail and kicked in. 0:1 to Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappe’s 199th goal at the club.
28th minute: Bai scored an equalizing goal, but the referee immediately disqualified him due to early hand contact.
29th minute: Goal! The champion went on a deadly burst from the left, Mbappe crossed and Messi got ahead of Lopes and scored his 700th goal in the clubs career. A quick 0:2 to Paris Saint-Germain and this is the ninth time the two have scored against each other this season – more than any other duo in the league.
Minute 33: Messi had to complete a pair after another outburst and preparation by Mendes from the left, but from six meters he kicked over the goal.
Minute 39: Every burst creates a situation for the champion, when this time Messi put between two Mbappe and put him in front of the goalkeeper, but Lopes came out well and stopped.
Minute 40: Marseille are simply shocked. Marquinhos spotted an empty area, moved towards it and suddenly found himself alone in front of Lopes, but kicked a flat ball that missed the crossbar by inches.
Minute 42: Here is a chance for Marseille as well. Tavares broke free on the right and kicked a spinning ball that went wide of the post.
55th minute: Goal! Mbappe passed to Messi, who bounced over the defense back to the striker, and it ended with one elegant touch into the net. Not just a pair of his, but 200 goals in a PSG uniform that place him as the club’s joint top scorer along with Cavani. 0:3 big for PSG.
65th minute: Alexis got ahead of Marquinius and his shot made its way to the net, but Donnarumma with a spectacular leap stopped right on the line and the rebound also hit the crossbar before the goalkeeper caught it.
90th minute: Vitinia, the substitute, wanted to shrink, Donnarumma got down well again and the header.
Monaco – Nice 3:0
A crushing knockout of the guest, who won at the Stade Louis II for the first time since September 2014 and interrupted Monaco’s streak of four victories. Yet Moffi, who did not score in his first three games since arriving from Lorraine, this time provided the goods in a big way. The Nigerian striker celebrated a debut goal in the eighth minute of the Riviera derby, completed a brace in a burst in the 26th minute and returned a pass to Kafran Toram who shot the third in the 43rd minute. Philippe Clemons responded with a four-way substitution at the break, bringing on Alexander Golovin and captain Wissam Ben Yedar, among others, but the result remained the same. Nice is already in seventh place and undefeated in the eight games with Didier Digar, who received a permanent appointment at the weekend until the end of the season.
Reims – Toulouse 0:3
Will Steele’s magical journey continues. The 30-year-old English-Belgian coach who arrived at Reims as Oscar Garcia’s assistant and took his place, has already counted 17 league games without a loss. This time he took revenge on the team that knocked him out in the round of 16 of the cup about two and a half weeks ago (3:1) thanks to a wonderful start by the Japanese Jionya Ito, who scored in the fourth minute and scored for Marshall Montesi three minutes later. The Japanese added another assist with a corner kick that found the head of captain Younis Abdelhamid (69) who celebrated his first goal of the season. Toulouse closed off the scoring for the first time after 10 rounds and the 10th ranked winner is now five points ahead of them.
More games
Lorraine – Auxerre 1:0
Leuker: Ryan Revalson (58)
Near – run 1:0
Laran: Jeremy Duco (19)
Clermont – Strasbourg 1:1
For Clermont: Albasen Rashani (65). For Strasbourg: Habib Diallo (34)
Ajax – Troyes 1:2
For Ajax: Yossef Balaili (62 on a penalty), prevented El Idrisi (68). To Troyes: Mama Balda (23), who was also sent off (77)
The 25th round of the French league opened on Friday with a turnaround by Lille, who came back from a 1:0 deficit and beat Brest 1:2. On Saturday, Lyon beat the last ranked Ange 1:3 away, while Lance finished with a 1:1 in Montpellier.