Le Classique

The term "Le Classique" is modelled after El Clásico, contested between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Spanish press borrowed the term Clásico from South America, where most countries use it to label the biggest rivalries in the continent, such as the Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate, and the Uruguayan Clásico between Nacional and Peñarol.[1] The fixture is also known as "Le Classico", "Le Clasico", "Le Derby de France", "PSG/OM" or "OM/PSG".[1][2][3][4]

Paris Saint-Germain were founded in 1970, and during that decade they were not at the same level as Olympique de Marseille, traditionally a giant of the French game. Formed in 1899, Marseille have been competing for trophies for most of their history and, for the first 87 years at least, were more concerned about games against Saint-Étienne or Girondins de Bordeaux than trips to the capital.[5] Today, the clash is considered France's biggest rivalry as well as one of the greatest in club football.[2][6] The duo are French football's most successful clubs as well as the only two French sides to lift a major European trophy.[7][8][9] They were also the undisputed top teams before the irruption of Olympique Lyonnais at the start of the 2000s.[2] Nevertheless, they still are the two most popular French clubs in the country and abroad, ahead of Lyon.[3][10][11] Both teams usually top the attendance lists every campaign as well.[3]

Like all major rivalries, it has a historical, cultural and social importance that makes it more than just a football match. People in France see it as a battle between the two largest cities in France: Paris against Marseille, capital against province, north against south, the hub of political power against the working class and the aristocracy's club against the people's club.[2][3][12] Ironically, though, PSG were born as a fan-owned team, while l'OM were founded by an aristocrat.[13][14] In short, the seeds of the fiercest French rivalry yet were always there, but they only began to grow from 1986 onwards.[5] That year, PSG clinched their maiden championship and French businessman Bernard Tapie bought Marseille. Tapie proceeded to invest huge amounts of money in star signings such as Chris Waddle, Abedi Pelé, Jean-Pierre Papin, Rudi Völler, Basile Boli, Enzo Francescoli, Eric Cantona, Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly.[2][5][12]

The clash increased in importance and ferocity when they went head to head for the 1988–89 title, during which PSG president Francis Borelli accused Tapie and l'OM of fixing matches.[3][15][16] Between 1989 and 1992, the southerners won four successive Ligue 1 championships.[12][16] They also finished runners-up in the 1990–91 European Cup before claiming the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League.[12] Marseille fans have never let their PSG counterparts forget this triumph with the chant "A jamais les premiers" (Forever First).[2] All these successes, however, were also tainted by match-fixing allegations from title rivals PSG and Monaco, but also other clubs, adding further fuel to the rivalry.[15][17][18][19]

Despite proving to be tough competitors, PSG were still no match for Marseille.[12] This was the case until 1991 and the arrival of new owners Canal+, the biggest pay television station in France.[2][12] The main reason behind the buyout was to revive interest in a Ligue 1 completely dominated by Marseille as well as lure more subscribers by assembling a team that could beat them.[20] With Bordeaux a fading force, Bernard Tapie needed a new domestic rival to make the championship attractive again.[16][20] So, Tapie encouraged Canal+ to help him promote the enmity between the two clubs to a confrontational level, and the rivalry was born.[3][16] Backed by their own rich owner, PSG began to flex muscles in the transfer market with Tapie's Marseille, recruiting top talent like David Ginola, Youri Djorkaeff, George Weah and Raí.[2][12] The league was now a two-horse race and they battled each other for the title in the early 1990s.[12]

PSG fans against Marseille in September 2006.

Between 1989 and 1998, PSG and l'OM picked up five league titles, four Coupe de France, two Coupe de la Ligue, a UEFA Champions League, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and reached two other European finals.[5] Many experts argue that those Marseille (1989–1994) and PSG (1993–1998) sides were two of the greatest teams in the history of French football.[21][22] The hype heightened tensions between supporters as well, and reports of fan violence became more frequent in the 1990s.[5] Since then, the matchup has been marred with injuries and arrests.[3]

The rivalry reached new heights during the 1992–93 French Division 1 campaign. PSG lost the title decider against Marseille and finished second.[2][21] Shortly after, however, Tapie and Marseille were found guilty of match-fixing in what became known as the French football bribery scandal.[12][22] The French Football Federation stripped l'OM of their title and offered it to second-placed PSG, who refused it because club owners Canal+ thought that claiming the trophy would anger their subscribers back in Marseille.[21][23] As a result, the 1992–93 title remains unattributed. Canal+ even refused letting the Parisian club participate in next year's Champions League after UEFA excluded Marseille from the competition. Third-placed Monaco took the spot instead.[23]

l'OM were then forcibly relegated to Ligue 2 in 1994 for lacking the necessary funds to continue among the elite.[12][24] With Marseille out of the picture, PSG would went on to claim nine trophies during that decade. Most notably, they won their second league title in 1994 and their crowning glory, the 1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, becoming only the second French team to win a major European title (after l'OM), and the last one to date.[7][25]

Marseille and their fans have since accused the Parisian political elite of plotting against them to crown PSG as the kings of French football.[26][27] This feeling of injustice stems from the political dimension to the rivalry, which has been described by FIFA as pitting "the chosen ones of French football (the politically-favored PSG) against its enfants terribles (the unruly l'OM)."[2] PSG have been indeed favored a few times. Club president Daniel Hechter was found guilty of running a ticketing scheme in 1977 and his replacement, Francis Borelli, incurred serious debts and financial irregularities in 1991. Unlike their arch-rivals, PSG were not relegated in either case; instead, they were bought by Canal+ with the specific goal of dethroning l'OM.[21] Two decades later, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, a well-known supporter of PSG, which was then struggling financially, facilitated the club's purchase by Qatar Sports Investments.[28]

Although Marseille quickly bounced back into the top flight in 1996 after two seasons in Ligue 2, their new owner was not so keen to spend like Bernard Tapie.[12] Likewise, PSG owners Canal+ slowly began to reduce their investment in the transfer market.[12] Nonetheless, the rivalry remained just as intense.[5] Marseille only lost twice to their northern rivals between September 1990 and February 2000, before Paris became the dominant force in the 2000s, during which they produced a spectacular run of eight consecutive wins between 2002 and 2004.[29] The balance briefly shifted again in favour of Marseille during the late 2000s and early 2010s, with the Olympians ending their 18-year wait and being crowned French champions in 2010.[30]

Since the arrival of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) as PSG owners in 2011, though, the matchup has turned into a one-sided affair.[31] Now with the money to compete with the best clubs in Europe, many great players have been part of PSG's all star-lineup that Ligue 1 had not seen since the early 1990s Marseille squads, including the world's two most expensive players, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, as well as Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Edinson Cavani, Ángel Di María and Mauro Icardi.[3][32][33] PSG have monopolised French football, becoming the country's most successful club in history in terms of titles won.[8][13] l'OM, in turn, have struggled to keep up and they have been trophy-less since the 2012 French League Cup.[31][34] Despite this, Marseille has occasionally threatened PSG's hegemony, without success.[29]

The Parisians have won 17 out of the 22 matches played since their takeover. On the other hand, the Olympians have defeated their arch-rivals just twice; they came out on top in November 2011 and had to wait nearly nine years for another victory, this time in September 2020.[31][35] The latter game sparked a new fire into the rivalry.[36] l'OM midfielder Dimitri Payet mocked PSG's 2020 UEFA Champions League Final defeat to Bayern Munich ahead of kickoff, leading to a massive brawl and five red cards at the end of the match as well as igniting a continuous animosity between PSG superstar Neymar and Marseille defender Álvaro.[36][37]

In spite of both laying claim to being France's biggest club, PSG and l'OM have rarely been at their best at the same time. Hence, they have competed directly for the league crown just five times, finishing in the two top spots in 1989, 1993, 1994, 2013 and 2020. Likewise, they have only played four finals against each other; the Parisians claimed the 2006 and 2016 French Cup titles as well as the French Super Cup in 2020, while the Olympians clinched the French Super Cup in 2010.[4][29]

The duo have also never been drawn together in UEFA competitions.[29] The closest they were of facing one another in Europe was in the 2008–09 edition of the UEFA Cup, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Ukrainian teams Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk, thus preventing a semi-final matchup between them.[38] In the rivalry's history, only one game has been cancelled. The second match of the 2019–20 Ligue 1 season, scheduled to be held in March 2020, was never played because of the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[39]

• 12 December 1971 (OM 4–2 PSG): The inaugural meeting between them took place at the Stade Vélodrome, just a little over a year after PSG were formed. The Parisians were fighting to maintain the category in their first season in the top flight, while the Olympians were aiming for their second consecutive title. So, logically, the match ended in a comprehensive win for a Marseille side inspired by the strike duo of Roger Magnusson and Josip Skoblar, the latter of which scored a brace.[2][15] Michel Prost, for his part, scored PSG's two goals.[40]

• 9 May 1975 (OM 2–2 PSG): Played amidst a hostile atmosphere, PSG visited the Stade Vélodrome as massive underdogs in the quarter-finals of the 1974–75 Coupe de France. l'OM were comfortably leading 2–0 until, out of the blue, François M'Pelé scored twice to revive PSG's hopes of qualification.[41] Angered by the result, Marseille fans were behind the fixture's first violent incidents after the final whistle. History says the rivalry began in the 1990s but M'Pelé believes this cup game is the true origin of the animosity between both clubs.[40][41]

• 13 May 1975 (PSG 2–0 OM): In the second leg, PSG registered their first win over the southerners and qualified for the semi-finals of the Coupe de France with goals from Louis Floch and Jacques Laposte. At the end of the match, Marseille's Brazilian stars Caju and Jairzinho lost their nerves and physically assaulted the referee on their way to the locker room.[29][42][43] They were suspended and never played for the Phocaeans again.[43][44]

PSG pipped Marseille to the 2006 and 2016 French Cup titles.

• 8 January 1978 (PSG 5–1 OM): PSG recorded their largest victory over l'OM and the Parisian players dedicated it to Daniel Hechter, who had just been removed from office due to a corruption scandal and was attending his last match as club president. Team captain Mustapha Dahleb climbed into the stands of the Parc des Princes and offered him the match ball. Marseille scored first through Boubacar Sarr, but PSG responded with a François M'Pelé brace, strikes from François Brisson and Dahleb, and an own goal from OM's Marius Trésor.[43][45] The result could have been even worse for the visitors as Carlos Bianchi missed a penalty and PSG hit the woodwork three times.[40]

• 7 April 1979 (PSG 4–3 OM): PSG won a spectacular goal-fest over Marseille thanks to Carlos Bianchi's late screamer. Bernard Bureau, Mustapha Dahleb and Armando Bianchi also scored for Paris, while Marc Berdoll (twice) and Robert Buigues were on target for l'OM. This game holds the record for most goals in a Clasico.[45][46]

• 28 November 1986 (OM 4–0 PSG): Recently bought by Bernard Tapie, the southern club immediately recorded its largest win over PSG, with future French legend Jean-Pierre Papin scoring the last goal against the defending league champions at the Stade Vélodrome.[15] This match is also remembered because PSG defender Philippe Jeannol had to replace injured keeper Joël Bats at halftime. Back then, clubs could only have two substitutes on the bench, so Jeannol was PSG's goalie during the second half, conceding Marseille's last two goals.[47]

• 21 May 1988 (OM 1–2 PSG): the capital club clinched a hard-fought win away to l'OM thanks to Safet Sušić's opener and a late goal from Gabriel Calderón.[48] This victory proved to be vital in keeping PSG's Ligue 1 status at the end of the 1987–88 season and dashed Marseille's hopes of European qualification.[43][48] At the final whistle, Bernard Tapie threatened the referee, claiming he would not ensure his safety when leaving the stadium.[43] The match, however, is best remembered for a play involving Parisian defender Michel Bibard and Marseille striker Jean-Pierre Papin. The latter broke in alone and headed for the goal when Bibard imitated the referee's whistle. Unaware of the deception, Papin stopped his course and gave the ball to the goalkeeper. But Papin soon realized what had really happened and a heated argument between both players ensued, almost ending in a general brawl.[48]

• 5 May 1989 (OM 1–0 PSG): The 1988–89 title decider at the Vélodrome was the match that set the tone for the years that followed.[2][16] Before the game, PSG president Francis Borelli accused his l'OM counterpart Bernard Tapie of fixing matches.[15] Played out amid an electric atmosphere, the championship looked to be heading to Paris with the score tied at 0–0 and only a few seconds remaining.[2] But a 25-yard shot from Franck Sauzée surprised PSG goalkeeper Joël Bats and sealed Marseille's first title in 17 years.[16][49]

• 18 December 1992 (PSG 0–1 OM): The duo finally became sworn enemies after this particularly brutal match at the Parc des Princes, which earned itself the nickname the "Butchery of 1992."[16] It was on this day that the French Clasico was born. PSG coach Artur Jorge announced his side would crush their arch-rivals, while Parisian player David Ginola promised war upon l'OM. Bernard Tapie seized the opportunity to motivate his players and stuck the newspaper articles with PSG's provocations in the dressing room.[2][20] Marseille would not disappoint him, walking away with the victory thanks to a strike from Alen Bokšić in what was an extremely violent match with more than 50 fouls.[20][45] There were also several aggressions, most notably l'OM defender Éric Di Meco punching PSG's Patrick Colleter in the face.[43]

• 29 May 1993 (OM 3–1 PSG): Only three days after winning the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, league leaders Marseille welcomed closest challengers PSG in a match that would determine the title.[49] l'OM quickly fell behind, only to hit back with three goals, including one of the fixture's best goals: a team effort finished by an 18-yard header from Basile Boli.[2] Soon after, however, Marseille were stripped of the 1993 championship due to match-fixing, and were subsequently demoted to Ligue 2 in 1994.[12][15]

• 8 November 1997 (PSG 1–2 OM): Despite their fall from grace, l'OM only lost twice in the 1990s as the rivalry became more and more heated.[5][29] Recently back to Ligue 1, they claimed one of the matchup's most infamous wins. With the scored tied, PSG's Éric Rabésandratana apparently tripped Marseille's Fabrizio Ravanelli inside the area. Laurent Blanc converted the highly controversial penalty to give l'OM the victory in Paris. To this day, PSG fans accuse Ravanelli of a clear act of simulation.[15]

PSG fans during the 2006 Coupe de France Final.

• 4 May 1999 (PSG 2–1 OM): Leaders Marseille took the lead, but late goals from Marco Simone and Bruno Rodriguez gave their title hopes a huge blow.[45] After netting the equalizer, Simone mocked l'OM fans by showing off his Batman tattoo.[50] It was PSG's first league win over Marseille in nine years (April 1990).[29] l'OM were now behind Bordeaux, who played PSG in the final matchday. Amid a Parc des Princes demanding their team to lose, Bordeaux won with a late goal and were crowned champions, much to the joy of PSG supporters.[15] To this day, l'OM fans believe Paris let Bordeaux win.[15][45]

• 15 February 2000 (OM 4–1 PSG): A mid-table Marseille side thumped podium hopefuls Paris at the Stade Vélodrome in a heated match. The referee showed no less than eight yellow cards as well as two straight red cards to former PSG teammates Laurent Leroy and Jérôme Leroy, now at l'OM. Laurent reacted to a tough tackle from Jérôme by kicking him. They continued to trade blows and the fight soon escalated into a general brawl. Both of them were then sent off.[49][51] Florian Maurice, who scored Marseille's last goal, famously celebrated it by taking off his right shoe and throwing it to the supporters.[52]

• 26 October 2002 (PSG 3–0 OM): The Parisians were now in command of Le Classique and this match launched a series of eight consecutive wins against Marseille which lasted until November 2004.[12][29] Ronaldinho was the star of the show, guiding his team to a crushing victory with a fabulous brace at the Parc des Princes.[15]
• 9 March 2003 (OM 0–3 PSG): Ronaldinho was back at it again during PSG's visit to Marseille.[49] The Brazilian playmaker scored once as his team breezed to another three-goal margin win, their first at the Stade Vélodrome in 14 years (May 1988). It was also PSG's biggest away victory in the south up until that point.[15][29]

• 25 April 2004 (PSG 2–1 OM): In a match largely dominated by the home side, Pauleta's star performance was the highlight of the evening. The Portuguese striker scored twice and his first of the game is one of the rivalry's finest goals: a precise lob from an impossible angle to trump Marseille goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.[53]

• 7 November 2004 (PSG 2–1 OM): The return of Frédéric Déhu and Fabrice Fiorèse to Paris took the spotlight off the match. Both players had left the French capital to join Marseille in the summer of 2004, and they received an exceptionally hostile welcome from PSG supporters.[54][55] After only twenty minutes of play, PSG defender Sylvain Armand was sent off for a violent tackle on Fiorèse.[55] The former Parisian was also the target of multiple projectiles raining down from the stands. The CRS riot police had to shield Fiorèse every time he would take a corner.[50][56] Despite being one man down for most of the game, PSG still managed to win.[55]

• 10 November 2004 (OM 2–3 PSG): Three days later, Bernard Mendy's late strike sealed PSG's incredible comeback from a two-goal deficit in the League Cup at the Stade Vélodrome. This was their eighth and final consecutive victory, a run known by PSG fans as "Le Grand Huit" ("The Great Eight").[29]

• 16 October 2005 (OM 1–0 PSG): Former PSG fan favorite Lorik Cana, who had signed directly from the capital side a few months earlier, scored the only goal of a really close game at the Stade Vélodrome.[49][57] It was Marseille's first win over their arch-rivals since April 2002, putting an end to PSG's nine-match unbeaten run.[29] Two hours before the match, a strange smell of ammonia floated in the locker room reserved for the Parisians.[50] TV footage showed PSG coach Laurent Fournier and his players coughing as they left the dressing room.[50][58][59] Fournier complained that his team's preparations were disrupted by the incident; l'OM president Pape Diouf responded that Paris needed "to learn to accept defeat."[59] According to PSG players Modeste M'bami and Fabrice Pancrate, Marseille also used another tactic to mess with their concentration. After the ammonia episode, they claim that l'OM instructed former Marseille-born porn star, Clara Morgane, to pass through the new location where they were changing. Although Morgane did attend the match, she has always denied these allegations.[60][61]

• 5 March 2006 (PSG 0–0 OM): The growing tensions between supporters resulted in less places at the Parc des Princes for the visiting fans. In protest, Marseille president Pape Diouf sent the club's reserve team from the French fourth division. The latter managed a goalless draw and were received as champions in the south. This match is known by OM fans as the Classico of "Les Minots" ("The Kids").[15][45]

• 29 April 2006 (OM 1–2 PSG): Both teams met in the 2006 Coupe de France Final at Stade de France. Marseille had the opportunity to win their first trophy since 1993, but league strugglers PSG denied them the title.[15] Bonaventure Kalou scored early on for PSG and Vikash Dhorasoo then doubled the lead with an amazing 25-yard shot.[2][29] Toifilou Maoulida pulled one back, but l'OM could not find an equalizer and Paris were crowned champions.[15][29]

OM fans during the 2006 Coupe de France Final.

• 26 October 2008 (OM 2–4 PSG): Driven by a brace from Guillaume Hoarau and a great second-half performance, the Parisians scored four goals at the Stade Vélodrome for the first time ever. This win set them on the course for the league title and prevented Marseille from taking the lead at the top of the table.[49]

• 15 March 2009 (PSG 1–3 OM): Following the surprise defeat of league leaders Olympique Lyonnais, a win would give Paris the top spot. With the score tied at 1–1 in a close affair, Zoumana Camara's straight red card in the second half killed PSG's title hopes as l'OM rapidly scored twice.[62]

• 20 November 2009 (OM 1–0 PSG): Ten years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2009 swine flu pandemic landed in France. Originally scheduled to be played in October, this mach was postponed after PSG players Ludovic Giuly, Mamadou Sakho and Jérémy Clément were diagnosed with H1N1 flu and the whole squad was quarantined at their hotel in Marseille.[60][63] It finally took place in November and former idol Gabriel Heinze crucified Paris by scoring the game's only goal.[29][54]

• 28 February 2010 (PSG 0–3 OM): The Olympians recorded their biggest win ever at the Parc des Princes against a mediocre PSG side that finished in 13th place.[15][29] l'OM would went on to win the Ligue 1 title, ending their 17-year trophy drought.[15]

• 28 July 2010 (OM 0–0 PSG): l'OM won their first Trophée des Champions, beating PSG 5–4 on penalties after a goalless draw in Tunis. The 2010 edition of the competition was also the first to feature the two arch-rivals who failed to offer much in the way of a spectacle. Both Peguy Luyindula and Ludovic Giuly missed from the spot for the Parisians and although Lucho González also failed to find the net for Marseille, former PSG midfielder Édouard Cissé stuck the winning kick.[64]

• 7 November 2010 (PSG 2–1 OM): Nenê was in stellar form as PSG claimed its first home victory over Marseille in six years (November 2004). Mevlüt Erdinç opened the scoring by tapping home a rebound after l'OM keeper Steve Mandanda failed to hold on to an angled shot from Nenê. The Turkish striker then delighted the home fans with his memorable goal celebration. He lifted his shirt to reveal a t-shirt carrying club motto 'Paris est magique!' ('Paris is magical!'). Guillaume Hoarau doubled PSG's lead shortly after with a shot between Mandanda's legs after Nenê found him with a magnificent lob over the Marseille defence. Lucho González rapidly pulled one back, but l'OM could not find the equaliser against a determined PSG defence.[65][66]

• 27 November 2011 (OM 3–0 PSG): PSG had just been bought by Qatar Sports Investments and the first big-money Parisian stars walked into the Stade Vélodrome for the inaugural Derby de France of the Qatari era. The capital club arrived as league leaders but returned home having lost the lead and being outclassed by a largely superior Marseille side. This was l'OM's last victory over Paris until September 2020.[29][49]

• 7 October 2012 (OM 2–2 PSG): Main contenders for the 2013 league title, the two sides first clashed at the Stade Vélodrome. OM striker André-Pierre Gignac opened the scoring but, within two minutes, Zlatan Ibrahimović equalised with a spectacular volleyed back-heel from a corner and then gave Paris the lead with a powerful free-kick past Steve Mandanda from 25 yards. Gignac, however, ensured parity with his second of the night as Marseille remained three points clear of PSG at the top of the table.[49][67] This was the first time since January 1994 that PSG and l'OM went into the game occupying Ligue 1's top two spots.[4]

OM tifo against PSG at the Stade Vélodrome in April 2015.

• 24 February 2013 (PSG 2–0 OM): In the return match, Carlo Ancelotti's men came out on top in a very tight title decider at the Parc des Princes. Despite an early own goal from defender Nicolas N'Koulou, the Olympians dominated and had the best chances throughout. PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, however, made several superb saves to preserve his team's advantage until Zlatan Ibrahimović secured the win over their Ligue 1 title rivals in added time.[68]

• 5 April 2015 (OM 2–3 PSG): League leaders PSG visited the south two points ahead of Marseille for the 2015 title decider. André-Pierre Gignac scored twice in between Blaise Matuidi's stunning curled shot but, in the space of three minutes, Paris turned things around early in the second half with a lucky goal from Marquinhos and an own goal from Jérémy Morel. PSG would claim the title at the end of the season.[49][69]

• 21 May 2016 (OM 2–4 PSG): Both sides met in the 2016 Coupe de France Final at Stade de France. PSG needed a win to complete a second successive domestic treble, while l'OM were looking to salvage a mediocre season. Playing his last game for the club, Zlatan Ibrahimović scored twice and assisted another as PSG took home the trophy in front of a record 80,000 spectators.[70] This was PSG's tenth and final victory in a row.[29]

• 26 February 2017 (OM 1–5 PSG): Paris equalled its biggest win in the fixture, as well as recording their largest away victory yet, by crushing their bitter rivals with goals from Marquinhos, Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura, Julian Draxler and Blaise Matuidi.[31][49]

• 22 October 2017 (OM 2–2 PSG): In the first half, Luiz Gustavo opened the scoring for Marseille with a 30-yard shot before Neymar equalised. l'OM regained the lead through Florian Thauvin late in the game and Neymar was sent off shortly after. Thus, the Olympians were seconds away from their first win since November 2011, but Edinson Cavani's last-gasp free-kick salvaged a draw for PSG and silenced the whole stadium.[29][71]

• 28 October 2018 (OM 0–2 PSG): Left on the bench by PSG coach Thomas Tuchel for being late to a meeting, supersub Kylian Mbappé, just three minutes after coming on, broke the deadlock with a great solo run in the second half. Late drama followed as Marseille were denied a goal because of Marquinhos' theatrics before Julian Draxler netted PSG's second in stoppage time. The German winger celebrated by cupping his ears to the l'OM supporters.[72][73]

• 27 October 2019 (PSG 4–0 OM): A banner in the Auteuil curve of the Parc des Princes, which read "We have been hammering you for eight years and it's not over," set the tone for the match.[32] Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappé scored twice each in the first half as PSG recorded a 4–0 walkover over Marseille at the Parc des Princes, a scoreline on par with the matchup's biggest wins: 5–1 in January 1978 and February 2017 for PSG, and 4–0 in November 1986 for l'OM.[29][32]

• 22 March 2020 (match cancelled): On April 30, 2020, the Ligue de Football Professionnel awarded the 2019–20 Ligue 1 title to Paris Saint-Germain after the French Government cancelled the sporting season in the country because of the COVID-19 pandemic in France. As a result, the second league match between Marseille and PSG, scheduled to be held on March 22, 2020, at the Stade Vélodrome, was never played.[39]

• 13 September 2020 (PSG 0–1 OM): Shortly after PSG's 2020 UEFA Champions League Final defeat to Bayern Munich, Marseille's Dimitri Payet used social media to remind the Parisians that his side remains the only French team ever to have won the UEFA Champions League trophy, preparing the ground for a very violent match at the Parc des Princes.[37] The match was dubbed the "Battle of Paris" by media outlets.[74] Florian Thauvin scored the only goal of the match in the first half, volleying Payet's free-kick in from close range. It was Marseille's first victory over their arch-rivals in nearly nine years (November 2011) and their first in the French capital in over a decade (February 2010).[29][35] In injury time, a full-scale brawl broke out between players of the two teams. PSG's Neymar, Leandro Paredes and Layvin Kurzawa were sent off, as were Darío Benedetto and Jordan Amavi of l'OM. Neymar, as he left the pitch, accused Olympian defender Álvaro of making a racist remark towards him.[35][36][37] The Brazilian became the first and only player so far in Clasico history to receive two red cards.[29] The referee showed 19 cards in total, a record for a Ligue 1 game in the 21st century and an all-time high in the fixture.[35][75] This match also holds the record for the lowest-ever crowd. It was played in front of only 3,904 fans due to restrictions on attendance related to the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[35] Post-game, Ángel Di María received a four-game ban for spitting towards Álvaro.[76]

• 13 January 2021 (PSG 2–1 OM): Paris had their revenge in the 2020 Trophée des Champions. Mauro Icardi put a dominant PSG side ahead six minutes before the break, tapping home the opener after Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda had pushed onto the post his initial header. The second half saw Neymar's first appearance since his ankle injury in December 2020.[77] He was immediately targeted by Álvaro, who fouled him several times in a continuation of the pair's quarrel in the previous match.[36][77] It was Neymar who had the last laugh, though. When Icardi was brought down by Mandanda, the Brazilian forward converted the winning goal from the penalty spot. Dimitri Payet pulled one back for l'OM with a minute remaining but PSG hanged on to clinch the title.[77] Post-match, Neymar mocked Álvaro, as well as Payet, on social media.[36][78][79] PSG also took to Twitter to make fun of Payet and his empty trophy cabinet.[80]

• Total: Olympique de Marseille with 22 higher finishes, Paris Saint-Germain with 19 higher finishes (out of 41 seasons with both clubs in Ligue 1).

Winning margin by 4 goals or more.

Six goals or more.

Five consecutive matches won or more.

Five consecutive matches unbeaten or more.

Ten cards or more.

Rank	Date	Yellow	Red	Cards
1	13 September 2020	14	5	19
2	25 January 2003	11	2	13
3	25 February 2018	11	0	11
4	15 February 2000	8	2	10
	10 February 2002	10	0

All-time highest attendances (PSG home, OM home and Neutral venue).

All-time lowest attendances (PSG home, OM home and Neutral venue).

No player has ever scored a hat-trick in Le Classique.[32]

As of 13 September 2020.[93]

Gabriel Heinze scored for both PSG and l'OM.

No. Player 1 Jean Djorkaeff 2 Jean-Pierre Destrumelle 3 Jean-Louis Leonetti 4 Jacky Novi 5 Jean-Pierre Dogliani 6 Jean-Pierre Tokoto 7 Ilija Pantelić 8 Boubacar Sarr 9 François Brisson 10 Claude Lowitz 11 Thierry Laurey 12 Marcel De Falco 13 Michel N'Gom

No. Player 14 Daniel Xuereb 15 Yvon Le Roux 16 William Ayache 17 Bernard Pardo 18 Jocelyn Angloma 19 Laurent Fournier 20 Bruno Germain 21 Daniel Bravo 22 Claude Makélélé 23 Patrick Colleter 24 Benoît Cauet 25 Xavier Gravelaine 26 Alain Roche

No. Player 27 Cyrille Pouget 28 Djamel Belmadi 29 Bruno N'Gotty 30 Pascal Nouma 31 Kaba Diawara 32 Jérôme Leroy 33 Stéphane Dalmat 34 Peter Luccin 35 George Weah 36 Jérôme Alonzo 37 André Luiz 38 Florian Maurice 39 Zoumana Camara

No. Player 40 Frédéric Déhu 41 Péguy Luyindula 42 Fabrice Fiorèse 43 Modeste M'bami 44 Lorik Cana 45 Fabrice Abriel 46 Édouard Cissé 47 Gabriel Heinze 48 Hatem Ben Arfa 49 Lassana Diarra