Ligue 1 Review | Is Le Classique still classic?

Le Classique is supposed to be Ligue 1’s premier fixture. However, the contrasting realities of France’s two biggest teams, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, meant that Sunday night’s game was very far from a classic.

PSG have started the season slowly, but that has frequently been the case for the club under Luis Enrique. In truth, it’s not how they start that really matters; it’s how they finish the campaign. And for the past two seasons, they’ve finished exceptionally well, as UEFA Champions League winners. The expectation will be that PSG will be at the top of the table in Ligue 1 come May.

The expectation for Marseille will be very different. Les Phocéens kicked off Sunday’s match sitting in the relegation zone. The squad is paper thin after years of financial risk came catching up to the club, forcing sale after sale of key assets without the ability to replenish. And with Marseille’s commitments split between the UEFA Europa League and the league, they find themselves in an increasingly sticky situation.

Le Classique: Minnows vs Giants?

For years now, there has been a debate in France over whether matchups between PSG and Marseille should still be honoured with the term Le Classique. There was a brief glimmer of these matches sparking back to life under Roberto De Zerbi, but like with so much of the Italian’s time in La Provence, it was a mirage rather than an oasis in the sands.

In L’Équipe today, Anthony Clement referred to it as a “Round of 32 Cup match between a minnow and a giant, with the Marseillaise happy to not have been thrashed.” A statement that felt stingingly accurate. Sportingly, despite PSG winning by a narrow scoreline of 2-1, there was really no contest between the two sides.

Marseille, of course, had moments even after Timothy Weah was sent off in the 77th minute for a second yellow card. Neal Maupay missed two extraordinary opportunities to punish some lax defending from Les Parisiens, while Nayef Aguerd, with one of the last actions of the game, could have levelled the tie if he was able to put his header on target.

Empathy over rivalry

But these were only ever snatched moments, like a drowning swimmer struggling against the rip-tide. The momentum was in Les Parisiens’ favour after a fairly sterile first half. If not for poor finishing on the side of the capital club after the break, it would likely have been a blowout defeat. The fact that it wasn’t was more of an indictment of PSG than a cause for celebration for Marseille.

Perhaps the most telling moments came after the action, in the response of Luis Enrique to his defeated counterpart, Bruno Génésio. Luis Enrique was empathetic, immediately embracing his supposed rival and sharing some quiet words with him. In the press conference, it was words of encouragement from one professional to another: “They have a very good coach; I am sure they will improve.”

These weren’t the words of bitter rivals, or the words you’d expect to come after the country’s premier fixture. For now, and for the foreseeable future, Le Classique looks to be a rivalry fought culturally, fought on the north/south divide between France’s two biggest cities. There, the lustre and the feeling of the clash will never fade, but on the pitch, Le Classique no longer looks like a classic, only a foregone conclusion.

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GFFN | Nick Hartland