Paris Saint-Germain beat 10-man Marseille 2-1 at the Velodrome, with Ferran Torres and Marquinhos scoring on Sunday.
Luis Enrique’s side controlled much of the game but had to wait until the 66th minute to break the deadlock. Desire Doue delivered an excellent cross into the box and Torres rose highest to power a header past Jeffrey de Lange.
The goal continued the Spaniard’s impressive start to life in Paris, taking his tally to seven goals in six appearances for PSG.
“I’m really happy. I just wanted to win this game for the fans, for our supporters, who couldn’t be here,” Torres told PSG TV. “This win is for them.”
Marseille responded quickly, levelling six minutes later through Angel Gomes. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg won possession before Amine Gouiri set up Gomes, who produced a fine finish for his first Ligue 1 goal since November.
However, the hosts’ celebrations lasted only two minutes.
Nuno Mendes sent a dangerous cross into the box and captain Marquinhos reacted quickest to sweep the ball home, giving PSG the lead for a second time.
“It’s always a pleasure to win here,” Marquinhos said. “When you come here and win, it’s so good, regardless of whether it was close or not.”
Marseille’s night became even more difficult when Timothy Weah, a former PSG academy player, was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for pulling down Mendes.
The hosts still had chances to rescue a point, but Nayef Aguerd headed wide in stoppage time, while De Lange denied Mendes as PSG pushed for a third.
The victory gave PSG only their second Ligue 1 win of the season, while Marseille suffered a fourth straight league defeat and dropped into the relegation zone.
Enrique was pleased with the way his team responded after a quieter first half.
“Le Classique is tiring, but I’m very happy,” the PSG manager said. “Today, we again saw how tough it is to play in Le Classique, especially at the Velodrome.
“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.”
Marquinhos summed up the importance of the result for PSG.
“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,” he said.
