Marseille surprised Messi and company
Marseille won the big French derby with Paris Saint-Germain 2:1. The two giants faced each other in a clash of the 1/8 finals of the Coupe de France and with this success the Velodrome hosts guaranteed themselves a place in the next phase of the tournament, while the Parisians suffered a huge disappointment for the second year in a row, going out in this one phase.
The great rivals played a rather spectacular match, especially in the first half, when the chances in front of the two goals were lined up one after the other and more goals could have been scored. Marseille took the lead with a penalty goal by Alexis Sanchez in the 31st minute, and Sergio Ramos equalized in the 45th minute. The winning goal for the home team was scored by Ruslan Malinovsky in the 57th minute.
Igor Tudor had chosen to start the match with Alexis Sanchez at the top of the attack, with Ruslan Malinovsky and Cengiz Yunder supporting him. Jonathan Kloss and Jordan Veretou operated on the wings, while Matteo Genduzzi and Valentin Rongier partnered in midfield.
Christophe Galtier could not count on several key players, with the absence of big star Kylian Mbappe most noticeable. So Lionel Messi and Neymar led the attack with the support of Vitinha, and Marco Verratti, Fabian Ruiz and Danilo were the midfield trio.
The hosts started more aggressively and already in the 2nd minute they claimed a penalty for a handball on Ashraf Hakimi in the penalty area. However, the judge was adamant that it was unintentional and would not indicate the white point.
PSG responded with a chance before Nuno Mendes advanced down the left wing and fired dangerously, but Pau Lopez was in a good position to block his shot into the near corner. Immediately after that, the Marseilles got their first accurate shot. Cengiz Yunder shot from the edge of the penalty area and Gianluigi Donnarumma made a brilliant save under the crossbar.
In the 10th minute, there was an even more serious danger in front of the goal of the Parisians. Donnarumma was crossed, the ball reached Yunder a meter in front of goal, but his header was blocked by a defender on the goal line.
Five minutes later there was another chance for the hosts. This time Malinowski shot on goal and Donnarumma again had to intervene decisively. In the 20th minute, Kolasinac was left to settle and shoot from outside the penalty area, his shot was not bad at all and went inches wide of the post.
In the 26th minute, for the second time a PSG defender had to clear the ball in front of the goal line, this time after a shot by Genduzzi. At the ensuing corner, Genduzzi headed again and Donnarumma saved. In the 29th minute, Cengiz Yunder got away from Sergio Ramos, who pushed him in the back, and the referee this time pointed to the white spot - a penalty for Marseille. Alexis Sanchez stood behind the ball and coolly scored for 1:0.
That goal rattled the visitors, who turned up the heat at the end of the half. In the 38th minute they won a foul in front of the penalty area, Messi shot but over the crossbar. Then, in the 40th minute, Neymar broke free on the edge of the penalty area and fired a shot into the ground, the ball bouncing off the post.
Seconds later, the hosts organized a wonderful counter-attack, Jonathan Kloss slipped behind the defense and shot hard, but Donnarumma made another brilliant save. In the 42nd minute, Cengiz Yudner received around the penalty spot, managed to tame the ball and shoot very dangerously, but centimeters over the crossbar.
In the added time of the first half, after a cross from a corner, Sergio Ramos took revenge for the penalty and restored the tie - 1:1 with a header. In the second half, both teams started more cautiously and in the first ten minutes there were no chances in front of the two goals.
In the 57th minute, however, Marseille scored a second goal with their first more dangerous attack of the half. Sánchez's shot was blocked by a defender, but the ball reached Malinovsky, who with a great volley shot unsaved the ball into the goal post for 2:1.
PSG's pressure followed, but it ended somewhere around the opponent's penalty area. It wasn't until the 79th minute that Messi found himself in a good position to shoot, but his shot went over the crossbar. In stoppage time, PSG came close to equalizing.
First the ball bounced off the crossbar, then Sergio Ramos headed in from close range and despite the efforts of Samuel Gigot, who even played with his hand, it crossed the goal line. Fortunately for the hosts, however, it turned out to be an ambush and the goal was disallowed, and the home player got away with a red card.
Sergio Ramos shot home again in the 93rd minute, but this time Pau Lopez saved. In the end, Marseille held on for victory and progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition. Paris Saint-Germain said goodbye to the tournament and will concentrate its efforts in the championship and in the other leagues in which it still participates.
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