Paris Saint-Germain overcame one of their biggest obstacles of the season when they defeated arch rivals Olympique de Marseille 2-1 at the Stade Velodrome.
PSG’s lead at the top of the French table was cut when AS Monaco defeated rivals OGC Nice in the Cote d’Azur Derby on Saturday, and Laurent Blanc’s side will have been desperate to re-establish their 24-point advantage at the summit of Ligue 1 in the Classique on Sunday evening.
They took the lead inside the opening two minutes when Zlatan Ibrahimovic finished from close range, with the Swedish superstar bagging his 21st league goal of the season.
Many of PSG’s opponents this season have wilted after going behind to the reigning champions, and considering their well documented problems this term, there was every reason to expect Marseille would do the same.
However, buoyed on by their raucous home support, OM responded through Newcastle United loanee Remy Cabella, who waltzed through the Paris midfield before sending a long-range effort past Kevin Trapp, albeit after a fierce deflection off David Luiz.
While the home side had the wind in their sails, it was the visitors who would claim the victory 19 minutes before the end.
Zlatan drew Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda who, making an uncharacteristic error, came too far from his goal, allowing the legendary frontman to thread the ball through to Angel Di Maria to finish with aplomb.
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