Neymar among five sent off seeing as Marseille end prolonged PSG curse
Neymar was first sent off on his go back from Covid-19 quarantine after reacting to a great alleged racist slur due to Marseille snapped their 20-match winless run against Paris Saint-Germain with a 1-0 victory above the reigning Ligue 1 champions on Sunday.
Florian Thauvin's close-spectrum volley in 31 minutes attained Marseille a first victory over their bitter rivals since November 2011 but an ugly scuffle towards the end resulted in five reddish cards at the Parc des Princes.
Neymar, in his primary game since testing positive for coronavirus last week, was dismissed in injury time for a good slap on Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez.
The Brazilian seemed to accuse his opponent of racism as he followed red-carded teammates Layvin Kurzawa and Leandro Paredes down the tunnel after he was dispatched off carrying out a VAR review.
"Look at the racism. That is why I hit him," Neymar said as he kept the pitch.
"The only regret I have is not striking this idiot in the facial skin," he tweeted following the match.
Neymar "explained it had been a racist insult, but We didn't hear anything about the pitch", PSG mentor Thomas Tuchel said.
"There is absolutely no place for racism found in football but I don't feel that was the circumstance," Marseille mentor Andre Villas Boas told Telefoot. "We'll need to consider it."
Argentine striker Dario Benedetto and left-back Jordan Amavi were shown crimson cards for the visitors.
PSG, who shed the Champions League last to Bayern Munich previous month, have finally lost their opening several games of a time without scoring for the first time since 1978/79 and the task for Tuchel's coronavirus-afflicted area does not get any easier this month.
A frenzied schedule awaits, you start with the check out of Metz in midweek and a trip to Nice up coming Sunday, and Neymar today faces a suspension.
PSG sporting director Leonardo suggested referee Jerome Brisard lacked the knowledge to officiate such a good highly-charged fixture.
"Fourteen yellowish cards and five reds means the meet was uncontrollable," said Leonardo. "Never to criticise the referee but perhaps it isn't enough time to officiate a 'clasico'."
Tuchel tried to downplay the defeat.
"I'm not angry. I believe you must separate the functionality and the effect. We played a great match, I'm pleased with the product quality, mentality and the effort," he said.
"We told the players if we continue steadily to play like this we'll win every meet. It had been a great performance but the result is definitely what it is."
- Mbappe, Icardi missing -
Marseille are trying to close the gap on PSG after returning a distant second previous season and discover themselves with an early six-point advantage over a good club that has won the title seven of the past eight years.
"It's an important gain, it's historic. It's a good win, a tough and obviously tricky one," said Villas-Boas.
Soon after fielding a depleted line-up at Lens on Thursday, Tuchel was able to recall Neymar and Angel Di Maria for a match played before around 4,000 supporters in Paris.
However, Kylian Mbappe remained absent immediately after testing confident for Covid-19 on France duty at the start of the week with Mauro Icardi and Marquinhos as well still missing.
PSG handed a good debut to Italy international Alessandro Florenzi following his arrival on a good season-long loan from Roma even while Sergio Rico were only available in aim after rejoining on a good long-term deal.
Marseille 'keeper Steve Mandanda produced a magnificent reflex to keep out an attempt from Marco Verratti simply a minute found in as tempers bubbled over frequently in the administrative centre.
Thauvin, who shone in Marseille's starting 3-2 win at Brest before the international break, made the breakthrough when he turned found in a Dimitri Payet free-kick from point-blank array.
Di Maria found the net for PSG just at night hour but had strayed evidently behind the last defender, and Marseille's celebrations were cut brief in similar fashion occasions later whenever a Benedetto target was ruled offside.
The Argentine rifled in a rebound after Rico parried from Thauvin, who was simply controversially adjudged to maintain an offside position much to the frustration of Marseille.
PSG's last target came in the 3-0 make an impression on RB Leipzig in the Champions Group semi-final on August 18, and Neymar poked wide from a good Pablo Sarabia cross before the contest turned ugly at the finish.
"It's somewhat disappointing we finished like this," said Thauvin. "We didn't need to get into that sort of game."
