Neymar sees red in thrilling 'Classique' draw

First took on fifth in this scintillating Ligue 1 clash. Marseille took the early lead through a superb effort from Luiz Gustavo, but PSG quickly hit back though Neymar.

Unai Emery’s side were denied a clear penalty just after the restart and their chances of winning the game were further dampened when Florian Thauvin put Marseille ahead with 12 minutes to play. Neymar saw red late on, but a sublime free-kick from Edinson Cavani rescued a point for league leaders.

PSG had the first half-chance of the match when Neymar played in Layvin Kurzawa down the left. After seeing an attempted cross blocked, the left-back fired a shot over from close range.

Marseille took the lead through a spectacular long-range strike from Gustavo. Dimitri Payet found the Brazilian and, from 30 yards out, he unleashed an unstoppable left-footed strike that swerved into the bottom left corner.

The visitors responded well and almost had an immediate equaliser. Neymar hit a first-time volley back across goal, but Cavani couldn’t sort out his feet in time to turn in from close range.

They did, however, draw level just after the half-hour mark. Adrien Rabiot was played in down the left and he cut back for Neymar, whose scuffed strike dribbled in at the far corner.

PSG kicked on following the restart and should have been awarded a penalty on 54 minutes. Kylian Mbappe drove into the Marseille box and was brilliantly tackled by Jordan Amavi, but the Marseille man clearly used his hand to stop the ball going out of play for a corner. The officials somehow missed it and Mbappe, who was rightly furious and wanted a penalty, went into the book for complaining.

There was a stoppage in play when PSG earned a corner with 20 minutes to play. Neymar went over to take the set-piece, but a section of the Marseille fans started throwing objects at the Brazilian, preventing thim from taking a corner. When it was eventually whipped in, Thiago Silva rose highest, but his header was easily collected by Steve Mandanda.

Marseille took a surprise lead after 78 minutes when substitute Clinton Njie won a tussle with Rabiot and delivered a dangerous cross into the box from the right. With the PSG defenders flat-footed, Florian Thauvin burst in and expertly slotted home.

A quite incredible finale to the game started when Neymar picked up a yellow card for complaining to the referee. Clearly still furious with the decision, the £198m man quickly reacted after being tripped by Bouna Sarr two minutes later and shoulder-barged him, giving the referee no choice but to send Neymar off.

Deep into stoppage time Sarr was involved again as he brought down Cavani on the edge of the Marseille box. The Uruguayan stood over it and expertly curled his strike in off the bar, sending the PSG dugout into delirium.

With that the referee brought proceedings to a close, ending a thrilling match at the Stade Velodrome. Marseille will be wondering how they lost this won, but PSG will be acting like they’ve won all three points.