2011–2023: A Classique era
On Sunday night at the Parc des Princes, Le Classique returns for the first time this season, with the fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille creating just as much anticipation among the Rouge et Bleu fanbase now as it always has done.
This encounter will be the 30th competitive fixture between the two teams since July 2011 and the arrival of Paris's current owners in the French capital. Across the 29 matches played in that time, Les Parisiens have built up an exceptional record of 22 wins, four draws and just three defeats.
Although Marseille actually started off this run of games against Paris with a resounding 3-0 win at the Stade Vélodrome on 27th November 2011, the matches that followed proved to be an absolute nightmare for Les Olympiens, as they failed to record a single win in 20 games up until 2020, including a run of ten straight victories for Les Rouge et Bleu – the longest winning streak of either team in the fixture's history.
That's not to mention Paris's historic run of eight straight wins over OM from 2002 to 2004, featuring bits of brilliance from the likes of Ronaldinho and Pedro Miguel Pauleta.
Zlatan Ibrahimović was the undoubted hero of that ten-game winning run, during which time he notched up 11 goals, including two unforgettable braces: an exceptional backheel followed by a direct free kick in his first game at the Vélodrome (a 2-2 draw on 7th October 2012) and then a penalty followed by a cool, low finish in his final appearance for the capital club (a 4-2 win in the Coupe de France final in Saint-Denis on 21st May 2016).
The Swede's departure didn't change anything, though, as Paris would go on to thrash Marseille 5-1 at the Vélodrome on 26th February 2017. Even when they weren't beating OM, a draw would feel like a win for Les Parisiens on 22nd October 2017, when Edinson Cavani scored a sublime injury-time free kick to make it 2-2, famously silencing the Vélodrome crowd.
With Paris dominating the fixture at this point, it was Ángel Di María's turn to enjoy himself, as the Argentine racked up five goals against Marseille.
Kylian Mbappé then took over the goalscoring duties, and Paris's 4-0 win over their rivals at the Parc des Princes on 27th October 2019 only confirmed the gap that existed between the two teams. That night, Les Marseillais conceded all four goals – scored by the duo of Mbappé and Mauro Icardi – in the first half.
It would take an incredible set of circumstances for Paris to finally see their unbeaten run come to an end, as on 13th September 2020, a team decimated by COVID-19, with seven key players testing positive before the game (Neymar Jr, Di María, Keylor Navas, Leandro Paredes, Icardi, Marquinhos and Mbappé), fell to a 1-0 defeat.
Six months later, Paris got back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory in the Trophée des Champions on 13th January 2021 in Lens.
Their most recent win at the Vélodrome, a 3-0 triumph on 26th February 2023 featuring a phenomenal display from Mbappé, would help them live down what was just their third loss to OM since 2011, a 2-1 defeat in the last 16 of the Coupe de France, 18 days previously.
So, with 22 wins, four draws and three defeats as well as 60 goals scored and just 22 conceded in 29 games going into Sunday's clash, Paris Saint-Germain's fans will be revelling in their team's recent record in this fixture. Time to extend it in the 30th edition of Le Classique at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night!
