This Sunday evening, Paris Saint-Germain travel to Marseille for the ‘Classique’ against Marseille at the Orange Vélodrome.
It is a symbolic match for the Rouge et Bleu, who will be travelling to Marseille for the 50th time in their history in official matches.
While the record is still in the home side's favour (23 wins, 10 draws and 16 defeats for OM against Paris), the gap has narrowed since 2012, with seven Paris wins, three draws and a single defeat.
The action will unfold on Sunday evening at the Stade Velodrome, now it's time to take a look back at 9 of the highlights of Paris's travels to Marseille.
The first win, 8th December 1979, Marseille-Paris 0-2
Marseille, second-bottom in the league and abandoned by their fans and supporters (only 5,556 paying spectators at the Velodrome!), continued their descent into hell, ending the season with relegation to the second division. Paris, for their part, were playing for Europe and, despite a large number of injuries, won the game with two goals from Boubacar, a former OM player, and Jean-François Beltramini late on.
The biggest win, 26th February 2017, Marseille-Paris 1-5
Paris Saint-Germain quickly took the lead when the Brazilian duo of Thiago Silva (passer) and Marquinhos (scorer) converted before Javier Pastore set up Edinson Cavani for the second goal. It was a 5-1 victory for the Parisians, who had already scored five goals with 20 minutes remaining on the clock, in a stadium long deserted by Marseille fans.
The most decisive win, 21st May 1988, Marseille-Paris 1-2
Paris, second-bottom in the league, travelled to Marseille, a declared candidate for Europe, and pulled off a feat by winning at the Velodrome. With two goals from Safet Susic and Gabriel Calderon, the win was a lifeline in the race to stay in the top flight, which was secured in the last match of the season with a narrow 0-1 win at Le Havre.
The 10-man win, 6th October 2013, Marseille-Paris 1-2
Marseille opened the scoring in the 32nd minute and Paris lost Thiago Motta, who was sent off when Ayew converted the penalty. But Paris Saint-Germain had the heart to turn things around, Maxwell equalising before the break and Zlatan Ibrahimovic converting a penalty after Marquinhos had been fouled. It was a precious victory for the Parisians, who showed courage and solidarity right up to the final whistle.
The most Brazilian win, 9th March 2003, Marseille-Paris 0-3
Ronaldinho had promised his friend Jérôme Alonzo, a former Marseille player and Paris goalkeeper, on the morning of the match: he was going to make Paris win at Marseille for him! And what a performance from Ronnie, who scored and set up Jérôme Leroy's goal at the end of a match in which the Brazilian player left the stands at the Velodrome speechless with admiration for such talent.
The most last-minute win, 30th November 2003, Marseille-Paris 0-1
Paris struggled throughout the match and a great Jérôme Alonzo in goal saved his team with an exceptional performance. The Rouge et Bleu looked content with a draw when, on a last-ditch counter-attack, Reinaldo fed Pedro Pauleta and the Portuguese striker's left-footed shot was deflected by Marseille goalkeeper Vedran Runje into the path of Fabrice Fiorèse, who just had to push the ball into the net. Coach Vahid Halilhodzic's players pulled off the perfect hold-up in a stunned Velodrome after this late goal for Paris Saint-Germain.
The most surprising win, 26th October 2008, Marseille-Paris 2-4
Paris, with new signings Guillaume Hoarau, Ludovic Giuly and Claude Makélélé, rebuilt themselves ahead of their clash with Marseille, who were contenders for the French title. The Rouge et Bleu had not won at the Vélodrome since 2004, and they dominated OM, with Guillaume Hoarau scoring twice. Three points that were to be sorely missed by Marseille, who finished in second place, three points behind Bordeaux in the league standings...
The draw that was as good as a win, 22nd October 2017, Marseille-Paris 2-2
An even match between the two teams, with defeat looming ever closer for the Parisians, who fell behind and were reduced to 10 men after Neymar Jr was sent off. A final Parisian free-kick, more than 2 minutes into stoppage time, and Edinson Cavani equalised in a stadium as silent as ever. It was a well-earned point, and a run of 15 matches without defeat for Paris against their historic rivals, that came to an end in September 2020 after 20 matches (17 wins and 3 draws).
The last win, 31st March 2024, Marseille-Paris 0-2
Despite Lucas Beraldo's harsh dismissal before half-time, Paris came out on top thanks to two goals from Vitinha (55') and Gonçalo Ramos (85'). A precious victory in the race for the title, with Gianluigi Donnarrumma unstoppable in the Parisian goal and management that paid off for Luis Enrique: an assist for Marco Asensio's and a goal for Gonçalo Ramos, two players who came onto the pitch together at the hour mark.
