PSG vs. Marseille: Winners and Losers from Ligue 1 Game

Goals from Lucas Moura and Edinson Cavani gave Paris Saint-Germain a 2-0 victory in Le Classique against Ligue 1 leaders Marseille, as the French champions welcomed back Zlatan Ibrahimovic from injury for the final 25 minutes.

Lucas and Cavani struck at the end of both halves as Marseille paid for missing early chances, while Giannelli Imbula was also harshly sent off with the score at 1-0.

Here are some winners and losers from the night in the French capital.

Winner: Lucas

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In truth, the Brazilian Lucas wasn’t really anything more than a peripheral figure for the first 37 minutes of this contest, which featured some excellent attacking play—but not necessarily from him.

They only remember your name on the scoresheet though, and he popped up ahead of Benjamin Mendy from Ezequiel Lavezzi’s centre to score at a crucial moment for his side. The first half had been an entertaining one, but it had probably featured the better chances going to Marseille, and so, to score when the hosts did was crucial.

We saw the frustrating side to Lucas’ game when he greedily opted not to pass to either Cavani or Javier Pastore when they were well placed in the middle in the second half, but the Parisians won’t be remembering that when they look back on this one.

Loser: Andre-Pierre Gignac

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If Marseille golden boy Andre-Pierre Gignac was ever going to end his Parc des Princes curse then this was the moment.

The forward had failed to score on his previous eight visits to the capital, but from the moment he hit the post with an early header, this looked like it was going to be another occasion which would pass by with him frustrated.

As he’s proved this season, he is a terrific forward, but Gignac seemed to let the occasion get to him following a first-half tussle with Cavani. He wasn’t his usual self, and Marcelo Bielsa’s team struggled in the second period as a result.

Winner: Edinson Cavani

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All eyes might have been on Ibrahimovic on the bench—and then later the pitch—but Cavani put in a strong shift as he scored his fifth goal in five matches.

No doubt thriving in the space afforded to him by Ibrahimovic not being there, Cavani has looked at home in the past few matches for the French champions, and so, it will be interesting to see how he reacts now that the main man has returned.

Of course, Ibrahimovic will go straight back into the side, but his Uruguayan team-mate provided a pretty compelling argument that he should be given more of a central role in the future.

Loser: Giannelli Imbula (and the Referee)

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The red card awarded to Imbula by referee Monsieur Turpin was an absolutely farcical one, particularly as the man in black had done very well to keep a lid on what was once again a heated contest between the two old rivals.

Having not booked anyone in the match up to the 78th minute, it was almost as if Turpin felt that he needed to make his mark on the clash.

Imbula was marginally late on Yohan Cabaye in the centre of the pitch, but a red-card challenge it certainly was not. It was a yellow at best.

Winner: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

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He’s back, and so, of course, PSG are going to improve with him.

Ibrahimovic’s return was greeted with deafening cheers from the home fans, who have been longing for the return of their idol during all these weeks he’s been out injured.

He could have scored late on had he not snatched at a chance, but that sharpness is bound to come over the next few weeks.

With PSG just a point behind the leaders now, he could barely have come back at a better time.

Winner: Ligue 1

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It is something of a cliche, but as we’re in France, we’ll use one. This was a great advert for Ligue 1 football.

The meeting of the premier clubs from the two biggest cities in the country was always going to attract attention, and with the added factor of Ibrahimovic’s comeback, it was important that both sides put on a show, and they certainly did that.

The first half in particular was a joy to watch, with Bielsa’s Marseille exploding into the contest and creating three good chances in the opening 10 minutes. The fact that none of them were taken would come back to haunt them.