PSG is offering but Marseille doesn't know how to use it

There has been no financial equality at the top of French football since 2011, when Qatari money flowed into Paris Saint-Germain. Fortunately, though, every once in a while, — once every six or seven years — Johan Cruyff’s famous line that “I’ve never seen a bag of money score a goal” comes to life. That’s what happened with Montpellier in 2012, Monaco in 2017, and Lille in 2021 — teams that managed to take advantage when PSG offered them a “little finger.” However, Lyon and Marseille are a different story — they haven’t won the league title since 2008 and 2010, respectively.

And when PSG does offer that small chance to both Olympique teams (with a few slip-ups this October), they simply don’t know how to make use of it. In fact, it seems they wouldn’t know what to do even if PSG gave them even bigger opportunity. Both Marseille and Lyon had the chance to leapfrog the European champions in the Ligue 1 table, but Marseille drew 2–2 with Angers, while Lyon drew 3–3 with Paris FC. To make the tragedy even greater, both teams squandered their leads in spectacular fashion. Marseille led 2–1 against Angers until the sixth minute of stoppage time, only for the total underdog to grab a point after a series of unbelievable defensive errors. Lyon, meanwhile, was leading 3–0 away to the newly promoted side but conceded twice in the last 15 minutes and failed to win.

It’s hard to say which of the two better symbolized the decline of French football’s traditional powers over the past decade — the fall of Marseille and Lyon, both once the country’s leading clubs before PSG’s Qatari-era transformation 14 years ago. Marseille even trailed at halftime against Angers, but then came 18-year-old Robionio Vaz — a youngster making only his 13th senior appearance, who joined the Velodrome side from Sochaux’s B team last year for a 200,000 euros fee. Born in 2007 and originally from Guinea-Bissau, Vaz scored both goals, and with his long-legged stride and fiery goal celebrations, he showed both the mentality and physical edge reminiscent of Mario Balotelli. It all fell apart, however, in stoppage time when Marseille’s defense allowed Angers center-back Ousmane Kamara to score with his foot inside the box in the seventh minute of added time. That’s exactly why some teams just aren’t championship material.

Lyon was equally unfortunate. They didn’t concede in the seventh minute of stoppage time like Paulo Fonseca’s men, but in the 84th minute — after leading 3–0, they still ended up with a 3–3 draw. Even two goals from the brilliant Czech Pavel Šulc — the Karlovy Vary native whom Viktoria Plzen polished into near-elite form before selling him last summer for 7.5 million euros — weren’t enough for the “Lions.” And again, it was a Kamara who brought trouble: Adama Kamara made it 3–1 in the 60th minute, Ilan Kebbal cut it to 3–2 in the 77th, and Valentin Marquetti sealed the 3–3 draw in the 84th.

Only Monaco got the job done. Even that was far from easy, but the Principality club managed to beat Nantes 5–3 at the Beaujoire. The hero of the victory was the finally fully fit (as much as that’s possible given his injury history) Aleksandr Golovin. Folarin Balogun, Maghnes Akliouche, and Mamadou Koulibaly each added a goal. After 10 Ligue 1 rounds, PSG sits on 21 points, Monaco on 20, Marseille, Lyon, Lens, and Strasbourg each on 19, while Lille and Nice have 17. Amazingly, there’s just a two-point gap between first and sixth, and only four points separate first from eighth. If only the rest of the French clubs could act as a kind of united opposition — instead of scattered minor parties, to borrow a political metaphor.

FRANCE - LIGUE 1 MATCHDAY 10

Wednesday

Le Havre - Brest 1-0 (0-0)

/Sangante 73/

Lorient - PSG 1-1 (0-0)

/Silva 51 - Mendes 49/

Metz - Lens 2-0 (0-0)

/Hein 87 pen, 90+1/

Nice - Lille 2-0 (1-0)

/Diop 29 pen, Jansson 88/

Nantes - Monaco 3-5 (2-2)

/Guirassy 19, 45+6, Mohamed 80 - Coulibaly 6, Balogun 41, Akliouche 44, Golovin 75, 90+4/

Olympique Marseille - Angers 2-2 (0-1)

/Vaz 52, 70 - Cherif 25, Camara 90+6/

Paris - Olympique Lyon 3-3 (0-1)

/Camara 65, Kebbal 77, Marchetti 84 - Tolisso 5, Sulc 51, 58/

Strasbourg - Auxerre 3-0 (0-0)

/Panichelli 46, Nanasi 55, Barco 60/

Toulouse - Rennes 2-2 (0-0)

/Cresswell 58, Donnum 85 - Lepaul 50, Tamar 54/