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10-man PSG draw with Marseille


By AFP
Published : 25 Oct 2021 08:18 PM | Updated : 27 Oct 2021 12:16 PM

Lionel Messi was kept quiet as 10-man Paris Saint-Germain settled for a 0-0 draw with bitter rivals Marseille in a heated atmosphere in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

The meeting of French football's biggest rivals was briefly held up on more than one occasion as objects were thrown from the stands when PSG players went to take corner kicks. There was another interruption in the second half when one young man invaded the pitch and approached Messi before being escorted off by a legion of security staff. 

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It was that sort of night for PSG, who could not get into their stride and were reduced to 10 men when Achraf Hakimi was sent off in the second half following a VAR review for a last-man challenge on Cengiz Under just outside the box.

The game was also marked by two goals disallowed in the first half for tight VAR offside decisions, one an own-goal by Marseille defender Luan Peres and another at the opposite end from Arkadiusz Milik.

It is a perfectly acceptable result for Mauricio Pochettino's side, who have lost just one of their opening 11 matches in Ligue 1 and are seven points clear at the top from Lens in second.

"I think we played very well, but we just couldn't get the goal," Pochettino told broadcaster Amazon Prime. "The team showed great character, and of course identity and style."

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