Marseille condemned champions PSG into second successive Ligue 1 defeat thanks to the sole strike of forward Florian Thauvin in the 31st minute of an ill-tempered match that ended with a mass brawl that saw five players including Neymar sent off on Sunday.
Marred with fouls and high tempers throughout, the clash of the French heavyweights blew in the last minute of stoppage time with referee Jerome Brisard sending off five players after a full-scale fight broke out on the pitch which was reviewed by VAR.
It was pretty obvious all game a red card was coming, finally got 5 in one go in the 97th minute with this “fight” breaking out. Kurzawa with a kick, Neymar punching Gonzalez in back of head. 14 yellow cards and 5 red cards in the game, could’ve been more too! #Ligue1 #PSGOM pic.twitter.com/Iv003OeZD0
— Matt White (@Matt_CAFC) September 13, 2020
PSG’s Neymar, Layvin Kurzawa and Leandro Paredes as well as Marseille’s duo of Dario Benedetto, and Jordan Amavi were given their marching orders after rival players threw punches and kicks at each other.
An angry Neymar, who’d clashed a number of times with Marseille’s Alvaro Gonzalez during the match, tweeted after the game: “The only regret I have is for not being in the face of this a–hole.”
Neymar later sent out a second tweet, calling for action to be taken after claiming he was called a racial slur at some point during the game.
“VAR catching my ‘aggression’ is easy,” the tweet began. “Now I want to see the image of the racist calling me a ‘monkey motherf—er’… this is what I want to see!”
4 – Neymar has been sent off as many times as Álvaro González in all competitions since the Brazilian player played in the Top 5 European League in Summer 2013 (four for each one). Conflict#psgmarseille pic.twitter.com/GXlPOd1tMt
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 14, 2020
Thauvin scored against the run of play, tapping in a Dimitri Payett free kick inside the near post from close range after the home side had come close through Marco Verratti and Neymar, who also missed a couple of chances in the second half as PSG suffered their second defeat in as many games at the start of the Ligue 1 season.
Visiting keeper Steve Mandanda pulled off several superb saves before both sides had a goal disallowed for offside as the pace and intensity went up a gear after the break.
Angel Di Maria’s effort for PSG was ruled out in the 62nd minute and Benedetto’s scorcher was also scrapped two minutes later as Thauvin, who unleashed the initial shot, was marginally behind the last PSG defender.
Missing several first-team regulars who had contracted the coronavirus, PSG pressed hard in the closing stages but Marseille’s rugged defence held firm.
PSG sporting director Leonardo criticised the referee’s actions.
“A total of 14 cards were brandished and five of them were red, which means the match got out of control,” Leonardo told the Telefoot television channel.
“[Brisard] lost his head. He officiated the League Cup final but he doesn’t have the experience for this kind of fixture”
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