A very hot-tempered le Classique didn’t get a winner on Sunday night. The duel between Olympique Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain – with Georginio Wijnaldum as a substitute – ended in a 0-0 draw, after a 94 minutes with two disallowed goals, a red card for Achraf Hakimi, pelts from the PSG players and a field-enter who sought out Lionel Messi and interrupted a promising attack. PSG remain the Ligue 1 leader, seven points ahead of closest pursuer RC Lens, while Olympique Marseille occupies fourth place.
The match between Olympique Marseille and PSG at the Stade Vélodrome was finished without fans traveling from Paris, for fear of disturbances. Les Parisiens appeared in the south of France with the strongest possible line-up, consisting of Ángel Di Maria, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. The first chance was for Arek Milik, who had to miss the first weeks of the season due to a knee injury. Despite Olympique Marseille getting off to a strong start, PSG seemed to take the lead early in the game.
Taking a corner is no easy task for Lionel Messi at Le Classique… ??#ZiggoSport #Ligue1 #OMPSG pic.twitter.com/APCnQllyYX
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) October 24, 2021
A Neymar bet was slid into his own goal by Sébastien Pérez. After interference from the VAR, referee Benoit Bastien put a line through this goal. Shortly afterwards, he did the same on the other side, when Milik scored on Pol Lirola’s pass. The latter was offside, leaving the first half goalless. The first company was also briefly stopped, after objects were thrown on the field at corner kicks from PSG. Throughout the game, shields and nets were used to prevent the PSG players from being hit.
??????? ???? ???? ???????????????????? ?? Achraf Hakimi is presented with a red print due to the VAR… ??#ZiggoSport #Ligue1 #OMPSG pic.twitter.com/6CiAiSovxL
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) October 24, 2021
With 54 minutes on the clock, VAR once again took on a leading role. Achraf Hakimi brought down Cengiz Ünder, after which Bastien initially whistled for a foul and free kick for PSG due to a handball. The arbiter was called to the screen and there was an expectation that he might award a penalty, but he eventually drew a red card. Olympique Marseille became stronger in numbers and had an excellent chance via Valentin Rongier, but his header went just wide. In the meantime, another supporter took to the field to find Messi, interrupting a PSG attack.
Le Classique ends without a winner: 0-0 ??
An insane incident occurred when a fan stormed onto the pitch in the midst of a PSG attack… ??#ZiggoSport #Ligue1 #OMPSG pic.twitter.com/z8nNquEEkT
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) October 24, 2021
The most dangerous opportunities remained for Olympique Marseille in the final phase: both Ünder and substitute Konrad de la Fuente were unable to make a convincing shot in a particularly promising position. PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino brought in Wijnaldum as a replacement for Neymar and shortly afterwards Mbappe seemed to have a great chance after a through ball from Messi, but that was prevented by an excellent sliding by William Saliba. Despite the fact that Olympique Marseille was still emphatically looking for the winning goal in the final phase, there were no more goals.