PSG have added another disappointment and Messi won’t fight for the only title they are missing: knocked out of the Coupe de France by Marseille

It’s the last minute of the duel between Marseille AND Paris Saint-Germain for the round of 16 of the French Cup. There is anticipation in the packed Velodrome stadium as the locals win 2-1 and advance to the next round, leaving their classic rival away. The ball arrives Lionel Messi outside the area and touches Hakimi with his right foot, who returns it to him. Once again Rosario’s man puts her aside while all her team-mates wait for the cross inside the area. Now Neymar has it and leaves it to the world champion. And one more pass to the side. He does not want throw it in the pot Rosario, but he has no choice. Nobody wants to play like him. Then the ball goes in search of the saving head Sergio Ramos and the figure of the archer emerges pao lopez. Stay with the last one. AS, Marseille advance and PSG suffer a new disappointment that looks a lot like a big failure.

Marseille was an honest winner because PSG are a team with the best footballer in the world, Messiand the best striker in the world, kylian mbappewho did not play due to injury, accompanied by discreet players, like Fabián Ruiz, Danilo Pereira and Vitinha, the three in midfield. The place amply deserved the classification: played as if it were a final, driven by her thousands of fans; she fought him as one fights in South America. To the group you lead Christopher Galtier now he is tormented by doubts, one week away from the decisive clash (Tuesday 14) against Bayern Monaco for the round of 16 of the Champions League.

The history of the French classic, known in Europe as Le Classiques. The existing rivalry is now the product of a marketing action which, analyzed over time, seems to have gotten a little out of hand due to the intolerance levels that have occurred in recent years. For something the bars of the Paris cast went to demonstrate (to intimidate, actually) Lionel Messi and company in the match preview. “Only Victory”read the one flag they displayed.

Olympic Marseille It is the most traditional club in France: it was founded in 1899. Its historic classic rival was Saint-Étienne, a cast that had been in an unstoppable debacle since the 1980s (currently playing in the second category). In those years, the eccentric businessman and actor Bernard Tapi He was the president of the Southern France team and needed a rival to grow and do business. Connoisseur of the media, Tapie did not hesitate to call the authorities of the Canal + television network, which bought PSG in 1990, to start generating a football rivalry between Marseille and Paris, something like the South against the North. Comparison was born in the media in the 90s, moved to the fans and grew with great matches. The multimillion-dollar contracts and also the Parisian championships have arrived, now managed by a Qatari consortium. And since then no one doubts when it comes to determining what the great classic of French football is.

How could it be otherwise, in the stands of the Velodrome stadium there was classic color and warmth. Marseille fans flashed scarves with the legend “Anti-Parisians”, in reference to the dispute between the two clubs. It was surprising to see all the plate players standing instead of sitting, as if they were nervously experiencing the game they had a thrilling start. If anyone wonders what it’s like to drown a rival in someone else’s field, he should watch the first 20 minutes of the match played in Marseille. The Croatian cast flew over Igor Tudor Galtier’s didn’t let him start from the back, gave him the lead and created many scoring situations for him. The local team’s performance was overwhelming.

Tudor did something dangerous: he left Neymar and Messi hand in hand with the central defenders and sent the rest to press almost level with the PSG defence. But the strategy was positive because there was only one team on the pitch. The Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma he bailed out his team multiple times, until Sergio Ramos entered the Turkish trap Cengiz Below, who went down into the area for referee François Letexier to sanction the maximum penalty. The contact was light (there is no VAR in the cup). The Chilean cared little Alexis Sanchez, which defined the left stick. 31 minutes have passed.

Until then nothing had shown PSG, beyond some individual action by Messi, the most rebellious of Parisians. Neymar stood out, returning from an injury and leaving the number 10 shirt to Rosario. He had already used it on January 31, 2022 in the duel against Nice for the round of 16 of the French Cup 2021/22, when he was eliminated. In this tournament the numbering goes from 1 to 11.

It was the Brazilian who was booked with a shot from outside, after receiving from outside FleaThat crashed on the stick. With the lead, Marseille lowered the intensity. It was known: it is not possible to play with that level of pressure for 90 minutes. And in that break, Paris has shown that it still has a certain hierarchy. Neymar made a corner -which was not- and Sergio Ramos went looking for the ball high up in the small area and scored the goal he has already scored dozens of times. The header was aesthetic and perfect.

Marseille’s attitude changed in the second half: He waited a few meters back and let PSG handle the ball, which only found some clarity when Messi had it. After 12 minutes, after a mistake by Neymar at the start, the Ukrainian Ruslan Malinovsky hung it from the corner with a brutal left hand.

The rest of the time was used to see how much PSG cost. He had no ideas to break even. Messi faded as the minutes went by. The young Warren Zaire-Emery and Hugo Ekitike entered, aged 16 and 20 respectively.

So Paris Saint Germain lost and was left out, that team that was thought to be a dream and is currently living a nightmare.