PSG can move closer to another Ligue 1 title with victory over Marseille

PARIS (AP) - Unbeaten leader Paris Saint-Germain can take a big step toward another Ligue 1 title with a home win against bitter rival Marseille on Sunday.

Victory at Parc des Princes would put Luis Enrique’s side 19 points clear at the top with just eight games left to play and with a much bigger goal difference than any other team.

Only a calamitous collapse can stop PSG from winning a fourth straight league title and a record-extending 13th overall, a scenario even more unlikely given PSG’s domestic dominance and its iron hold over Marseille in recent years.

In October, PSG romped to a 3-0 win at Marseille with the home fans jeering their own players off the field. Although Marseille won a French Cup game against PSG two years ago, it has not beaten PSG in Ligue 1 since late 2020.

That fiery contest saw five players sent off, including an infuriated Neymar. It was Marseille’s first victory in nine years against PSG, and set the tone for a tough campaign where PSG lost the league title to Lille in a huge upset.

PSG is flying these days and has its sights fixed on another domestic double and a first Champions League crown.

Marseille is all but out of the Ligue 1 race but a win would strengthen its grip on second spot, with third-placed Nice only three points behind before its home game with Auxerre on Friday.

PSG fans simply could not believe it when midfielder Adrien Rabiot joined Marseille from Juventus during the offseason.

To them it was the ultimate betrayal, seeing as the Paris-born Rabiot played more than 200 games for PSG from 2012-19 before joining Juve. The Serie A move came after a tense and ongoing contract dispute between Rabiot and PSG, which saw many PSG fans turn against him.

After they jeered Rabiot in a Champions League game, his mother and agent Veronique Rabiot said relations “completely deteriorated" and there was no way back.

He helped Juventus win Serie A and became an integral part of France's at the 2022 World Cup.

Rabiot has been one of Marseille’s best players this season, scoring five league goals in coach Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

Mason Greenwood is Marseille’s leading league scorer with 15, five behind PSG’s Ousmane Dembélé at the top.

Dembélé scored PSG’s goal when it won 1-0 at Liverpool on Tuesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals following a penalty shootout.

He is enjoying by far the best season of his career with 29 goals in 36 games, after years of wasteful finishing.

Dembélé made a bet with his teammates at the start of the season that he would hit 30 goals, with the promise of a luxury watch in return as an incentive.

After years of relying on Kylian Mbappé for goals, PSG’s new-look attack is looking far sharper these days.

Much of the credit should go to Luis Enrique, who has managed to get Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola working together seamlessly in attack.

Liverpool’s defenders were overwhelmed at times over the two legs, with the trio constantly swapping positions along the front line.

They can do so because of their speed and - crucially - their versatility.