Angry Marseille fans displayed banners attacking the club's American owner, Frank McCourt, as the former powerhouse went on to lose 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the French league on Sunday in traditionally the biggest game in French soccer.
Ferran Torres scored his seventh goal in six matches for PSG and captain Marquinhos netted the winner after Angel Gomes leveled for Marseille, which continued its terrible start to the season.
Marseille's fifth straight loss in all competitions left it second to last in Ligue 1. Defending champion PSG moved up to sixth place, five points behind leader Monaco heading into the international break.
Fans at the Velodrome stadium mocked the “Champions Project” of McCourt, who aimed to return the club to the summit of French soccer and among the European elite when he took over the club 10 years ago.
The banners read: “2016: Champions Project. 2026: Ligue 2 Project? McCourt Out."
Upon arrival at the vibrant southern port city, McCourt pledged to revive Marseille by investing 200 million euros ($210 million) over four years. Large amounts of money have since been spent on a myriad of players, without success.
The former Los Angeles Dodgers owner bought Marseille in 2016, and the southern club has struggled to achieve stability.
This year Marseille failed to qualify for the Champions League after a chaotic season, missing out on millions in revenues. Because of financial constraints, the club did not recruit any new players during the summer transfer window, leaving new coach Bruno Genesio with few options.
Marseille dominated domestic soccer in the late 1980s and early 1990s but hasn’t won the French league title since 2010 and has not claimed a trophy since the now-defunct League Cup in 2012.
‘Le Classique’
The match between Marseille and PSG is still considered the biggest in French soccer despite Marseille’s decline in recent years.
Known as “Le Classique,” it became popular during the 1990s when the arrival of big stars in the French league ignited a strong rivalry.
But Marseille, the first French team to win the Champions League back in 1993, has fallen well behind since PSG — now the two-time defending European champion — was taken over by Qatari investors in 2011.
This was the 37th match between PSG and Marseille since 2011, with the Parisian side boasting a record of 28 wins, five draws and just four defeats in that period.
However, the sense of fierce rivalry, on and off the field, is always there. Sunday's match was played without PSG fans after French authorities banned them from traveling due to the risk of violent clashes between supporters.
Torres scores
The hosts dominated early on, with Amine Gouiri and Amine Harit orchestrating Marseille’s attacks with pace, only to create half chances. PSG had the first real chance in the 12th minute when Ousmane Dembélé got behind the Marseille defense but sent his effort over the bar.
Marseille forward Neal Maupay missed a great opportunity in the first half when alone in the box after he was set up by Gouiri but completely fluffed his left-footed shot.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia came close to putting the visitors ahead in the 52nd minute from an astute cut-back pass from Dembélé.
Torres, who came on in the 59th minute, broke the deadlock seven minutes later with a powerful header from Désiré Doué’s fine cross.
PSG bolstered its star-studded attack by signing Torres from Barcelona on a five-year contract this summer. The forward scored Spain’s winning goal during extra time of the World Cup final against Argentina in July. It was his only goal of the tournament and he said it was “scored by 47 million people,” referring to Spain’s population.
Marseille equalized in the 72nd minute when Gomes beat Matvey Safonov from close range. But the relief for the hosts was short-lived.
Two minutes later, Marquinhos was not properly tracked by defenders and connected with a long ball from Nuno Mendes. He forced a reflex save from Jeffrey de Lange and scored from the rebound.
Marseille was left with 10 men in the 77th minute when captain Timothy Weah was sent off for a second yellow card.
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Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press
