Classique Act 100 (1/4): The start!

Almost 50 years to the day, on 12 December, 1971, the newly formed Paris Saint-Germain went to Marseille for the very first Classique. The game looked one-sided on paper: the capital club freshly promoted to the top flight against an OM side that was six points clear at the top of the table and destined to be champions. Despite the presence of former Marseille captain Jean Djorkaeff in the Parisian ranks, the 4-2 scoreline in favour of the hosts was not unexpected. Michel Prost got both Rouge-et-Bleu goals, etching his name in the history books as the club's first-ever scorer against OM. In the return game in Colombes - the Parc des Princes was still under construction and would be inaugurated a few days later by France's Olympic team - the Parisians put up a brave fight in a 2-1 defeat. Three days later, their 1-1 draw in Rennes secured their top-flight status.

The second big game between the pair came with a Coupe de France quarter-final three years later with the Parisians back in the big time and with a new president, Daniel Hechter. Marseille, off the pace in the league, had high hopes of saving their season with a trophy, but Parisians held OM in the Vélodrome (2-2, 9 May 1975) before going through in the second leg at the Parc des Princes (2-0, 13 May 1975). It was a highly charged occasion with post-match incidents leading to Marseille's Brazilian duo Jairzinho and Paulo Cesar receiving long bans for dissent shown to the referee. François M’Pelé was one of the chief architects of the Parisian success: "In the Coupe de France, we produced a great achievement in beating Marseille. I'll always remember the match at the Vélodrome. It was white-hot, really really white-hot. People talk to me about the rivalry with Marseille from the start of the 1990s, but for me, this match was the origin of the rivalry with OM."

Encounters between the pair were finely balanced until OM's relegation in 1979. One major win came within hours of President Hechter announcing he was standing down. On 8 January, 1978, the Parisians were expected to be in crisis against a league-leading Marseille side, but a 5-1 Parisian win showed otherwise. The scoreline could have been even bigger but Carlos Bianchi missed a penalty and Paris Saint-Germain hit the woodwork three times.

In 1984, OM were back in the first division and watched Paris Saint-Germain claim their first French title. On 9 August, 1985, a Luis Fernandez goal after just 50 seconds put Paris Saint-Germain on course for a 2-0 win that kickstarted the season. Their encounter in the south of France on 15 December, 1985, ended goalless, but was watched by new Marseille president Bernard Tapie, who would fuel the rivalry between the two clubs.