Olympique Marseille 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain: Heinze Strike Seals Clasico For Les Phocéens

Olympique Marseille triumphed in the French Clasico against Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1's glamour game.

Gabriel Heinze was the match-winner with a fortunate header in the 25th minute. Marseille bossed the contest against a tepid PSG side who failed to seriously threaten throughout.

After waiting a month to meet their bitter foes, a swine flu-less PSG had to make do without their suspended captain Claude Makelele and left Ludovic Giuly on the bench.

Marseille started the brighter in a packed Stade Velodrome and went close twice to opening the scoring in the opening five minutes.

Firstly through Brandao who nodded a bullet header past the post in the second minute and 60 seconds later through Mamadou Niang who nodded downwards from close range in the penalty area.

Les Phocéens were forced to make an early swap replacing Stéphane M'Bia with Edouard Cissé. The Cameroon midfielder had clashed in the opening exchanges with Stéphane Sessegnon and after another incident with the same player in the 18th minute he hobbled off.

The hosts were looking the more likely and when the goal did come it was in peculiar fashion through PSG old boy Gabriel Heinze.

Fabrice Abriel delivered an accurate free kick into the box which was met by an onrushing Heinze and team-mate Souleymane Diawara. The duo contrived to get in each other's way with the ball fortuitously falling to Heinze who nodded it home with more than a hint of luck.

Les Parisiens were subdued in the first half leaving striker Mevlut Erding helpless to make an impression up front. The Turk showed his class in the 34th minute when he swivelled in the box and forced Mandanda into a stop but it was rendered academic as a team-mate had crept into an offside position.

Erding had a shout for a penalty late in the half as he was clipped in the box but his appeals were too dramatic for referee Laurent Duhamel.

Marseille ended the first 45 on top and almost extended their lead through Mamadou Niang who rattled the crossbar with a fierce drive from 25 yards out. Grégory Coupet managed to get his fingertips onto the effort to prevent what would have been one of the goals of the season.

PSG didn't impose themselves on the game in the second half in spite of the introductions of Giuly and Maurice.

Defender Sylvain Armand was in the wars after a nasty tackle from Brandao where the Brazilian appeared to lead with his studs onto his ankle and moments later he was bleeding heavily from the nose after getting a kick in the face
.
Bloodied and battered he carried on but he was unable to inspire his side to mount a comeback.

L'OM had half chances through Cheyrou who let one fly from 20 yards out, which should have been dealt with better by Coupet, and through Brandoa who stuck his boot out to get on the end of another good Abriel free-kick.

Antoine Kambouaré looked exasperated on the bench as his side were unable to step up to the occasion.

They mustered a half chance through Erding with twenty minutes to play when he escaped his marker for an instant only for the recovering Heinze to intervene and make a last ditch tackle to deny the visitors an ill deserved equaliser.

Substitute Maurice found himself in space inside the Marseille penalty area with ten minutes remaining after a decent passage of play involving Luyindula and Giuly. The striker though lost his composure at the crucial moment and with it his side's last decent chance of a poor second half.

After scoring eleven goals in their past two games, Marseille will be content with just the one which secured the three points against their bitter rivals from the north.

Patrick Reilly, Goal.com