PSG offers Marseille without panache and gets closer to the title

Paris-Saint-Germain took a big step towards a historic tenth Ligue 1 title by beating Olympique de Marseille (2-1), where Neymar did everything to make himself loved, Sunday April 17 for the shock of the 32^and daytime. Has a march of the title. The Parisians have increased their lead to 15 points over their runner-up and rival Marseille, they can be crowned on Wednesday if they do better in Angers than OM against Nantes.

“Ney” has a lot to do with it, and he was acclaimed this time by the Parc des Princes. One goal (12^and), a penalty caused, scored by Kylian Mbappé (45^and+5 sp), the Brazilian succeeded in his classic. His 6 goals in three matches and some classy gestures on Sunday are a reminder of what a great player he can be. But they do not make Parisian supporters forget the collective bankruptcy against Real Madrid which led to their elimination from the Champions League.

The ultras of the CUP (Collectif ultras parisiens) continued their encouragement strike. They hardly appeared except for songs and whistles against the Marseillais. Beating OM does not console them, obviously. But PSG is still on its way to the record of Saint-Étienne, who had conquered his 10^and title in 1981 with Michel Platini. When PSG was founded in 1970, the “Greens”, born in 1919, won their sixth title of champions of France.

Marseille keeps a small lead

Marseille, who equalized through Duje Caleta-Car (31^and), is nine, that of 1993 having been canceled after the VA-OM case. Jorge Sampaoli’s team ended a series of eight consecutive victories there, in all competitions, but the week was still not too hard. His first pursuer, Rennes (3^and), lost and OM retain a small lead over the pack of Champions League contenders, three lengths over the Bretons, five over Nice (4^and) and six in Strasbourg (5^and) and Monaco (6^and).

And then the European dream of the Phocaeans is still alive, after their qualification for the semi-finals of the Conference League, against Feyenoord Rotterdam, on April 28 and May 5. However, OM thought they would bring back a point from the Parc des Princes when William Saliba headed a free kick from Dimitri Payet (85^and). But the goal was canceled after a few minutes of VAR.

In goal, Steve Mandanda, who shone against PAOK Salonika in the quarterfinals (2-1/1-0), had given way to Pau Lopez, quickly trapped by the talent of Neymar. Rather than waiting for a rebound, the Brazilian took a deep ball from Marco Verratti in extension to both get ahead of the Spanish goalkeeper in front of him and Valentin Rongier behind him.

Neymar acclaimed

This time, the Park, which had whistled the n ° 10 after the rout in Madrid, did not skimp on its joy to celebrate this goal, the sixth in three matches for “Nei”. And when the name of the scorer was announced by the stadium announcer, you really had to listen carefully to distinguish a few whistles from the Auteuil bend. Reconciliation with Neymar seems to be on the right track.

He also got the penalty converted by Kylian Mbappé, his seventh goal in a classic, perhaps his last, just before the break, his shot hitting Rongier’s elbow. But mental fragility still awaits this PSG. A missed exit from Gianluigi Donnarumma on a corner allowed Duje Caleta-Car to equalize after a confused action, where neither Marquinhos, nor Marco Verratti, nor Danilo Pereira could catch the ball.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris deserved their victory for having mastered the debates, even if they often fell into the trap of offside. PSG were denied no less than three goals for offside, two to Mbappé (35^and76^and) and one to Messi (40^and). These actions have at least allowed the Park to admire the refinement of the complicity of the “MNM”. Too late for the Champions League, but still on time for Ligue 1.