Luis Enrique and Marquinhos celebrate hard-fought Le Classique victory over Marseille

Sunday night's showdown at Velodrome was a fiercely contested affair, with Ferran Torres heading PSG in front before Angel Gomes quickly restored parity for the hosts. Marquinhos then stepped up as the hero, pouncing on a loose ball from a corner to seal victory for the visitors just two minutes later. Les Parisiens' advantage became insurmountable when Marseille captain Timothy Weah was shown a red card in the final 15 minutes.

PSG boss Enrique acknowledged that Le Classique is always a physically and mentally draining encounter, dismissing suggestions that the fixture would be straightforward. The tactician highlighted his side's determination to respond after the break, having delivered a far sharper and more dominant second-half display.

Explaining his delight at his team's improved showing after half-time, Enrique told PSG TV: "Le Classique is tiring, but I'm very happy! Some people thought that this would be easy, but I didn't. Today, we again saw how tough it is to play in Le Classique, especially at the Velodrome, but I think that we played really well.

"The second half was much better than the first. We tried to improve on our first-half display and to create a lot of chances. We managed to do so, and we're really happy to get these three points, which we know are important to our fans."

The decisive goal proved particularly sweet for Marquinhos, as it saw him equal Brazilian compatriot Lucas Moura's tally of 46 goals for the capital club.

The 32-year-old centre-back stressed that in a rivalry of this magnitude, securing the win by any means necessary is the only thing that matters. Reflecting on how his side weathered a stern test from the home team, Marquinhos explained via PSG TV: "It's always a pleasure to win here. When you come here and win, it's so good, regardless of whether it was close or not. We've had easier games here, but we played well today.

"We also had to defend, and even though they were second from bottom before this game, they're a good team that challenged us on the pitch. We managed to overcome our problems to win, and that feels so good. I'm really happy to have won here. As we often say, you don't play Le Classique, you win it, be it here or at home, and we're really happy to have won this game.

"As for my goal, I think I've equalled Lucas Moura's goal tally at the club, right? 46 goals is a great total! We know how difficult it is to score goals, but when you get the chance to help the team to win, it's always good, especially here in Marseille."

This hard-earned victory cuts PSG's deficit behind league leaders Monaco to five points before the domestic calendar halts for the international break. Enrique's men return to action on October 10 when they host promoted Le Mans at Parc des Princes as they look to climb further up the table. Meanwhile, a reeling Marseille side stuck in the relegation zone must use the three-week pause to regroup ahead of a crucial trip to Troyes the following day.