On Sunday, all eyes will be on the French football Clasico between defending champion Paris Saint-Germain and its host Marseille in the fifth round of the league, in a confrontation between two teams whose start to the season was not up to expectations.
Saint-Germain, which is playing without its fans at the Velodrome Stadium by decision of the Ministry of the Interior, seeks to confirm its awakening when it is a heavy guest on its arch-rival Marseille, which is in thirteenth place with four points from a win and a draw.
After a shaky start to the season, in which they failed to win in the first three matches of the local league, Spanish coach Luis Enrique's team's machinery began to regain its luster after a crushing victory over Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia 6-1 in the opening round of the unified group stage of the Champions League, before following it up with another victory, albeit less prolific in scoring, over Brest 1-0 in the league.
“El Clásico” is one of the most tense and intense confrontations in French football.
Saint-Germain fans will be prohibited from attending the match at Velodrome Stadium, or even being in its vicinity.
A decision issued by the Ministry of the Interior stated: “On Sunday, September 20, it is prohibited to move individually or collectively, by any means, for anyone claiming to be a fan of Paris Saint-Germain, or acting on this basis, between the municipalities of the Ile-de-France region on the one hand and the city of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) on the other hand.”
This decision comes after another issued on September 9 by the delegated police prefecture in Bouches-du-Rhône, prohibiting on Sunday any Saint-Germain fan from “entering the Velodrome stadium or stopping or moving on public roads in the city center and in the vicinity of the stadium.”
Saint-Germain is counting on its star-studded arsenal, led by Ousmane Dembélé, the best player in the world for the year 2025, and is also armed with the remarkable presence of its new striker, the Spanish Ferran Torres, who scored the winning goal against Brest.
In turn, Marseille relies on the strength of its midfield, led by Danish Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Englishman Angel Gomez, with the aim of disrupting Saint-Germain's offensive build-up from deep, and launching quick and lightning transitions.
The irony is that Marseille had defeated its rival in the confrontation that brought them together in September of last year at the Velodrome Stadium, 1-0, with an own goal by Brazilian Marquinhos, which strengthens the ambitions of coach Bruno Genesio’s team to repeat the victory.
As for Saint-Germain, which started the season with a loss in the French Champions Cup against Lens, and then settled for two points from 3 matches in the league, it hopes to achieve its second victory locally.
On the other hand, the other pole of the capital, Paris FC, seeks to confirm its strong start when it hosts Strasbourg in a confrontation between two teams that were strongly present at the beginning of the season, on Saturday.
Paris FC ranks fourth with 8 points (two wins and two draws), on goal difference from Lyon, which hosts Rennes in a difficult match, while Strasbourg comes sixth with 7 points (two wins, a draw and a loss).
In turn, Monaco seeks to take the lead, even if temporarily, when it hosts Lens, last season's runner-up, on Friday at the opening of the stage.
He promised to start the season strong with three consecutive victories, including over Saint-Germain 2-1. The principality team fell into the trap of a 1-1 draw against Strasbourg last week, losing the lead on goal difference to Lille, while also leading on goal difference over Rennes III (10 points).
Brazilian coach Filipe Luis' men are looking to continue the consistent performances before the international break, which will give them a great morale boost at the beginning of a long and arduous season.
Lewis is counting on the young German striker Paris Broner to continue his brilliance, after he scored 3 goals in 4 matches, including a remarkable brace that led his team to victory over its guest Marseille in the second stage (2-0).
On Friday, Monaco has the opportunity to extend its unbeaten record at home in League 1 to 6 consecutive matches this month. Its last defeat in league matches at its home stadium in “Louis II” during the month of September dates back to 2023, when it lost to its traditional rival, Nice, 1-0.
For its part, Lens started the season strong, after defeating Saint-Germain in the French Super Cup match, before opening its league campaign with a sweeping victory over Auxerre 5-2. However, the team quickly lost the sparkle of its start, after suffering two losses, and contented itself with a draw in its last three matches, falling to tenth place with 4 points.
In turn, Rennes and Lille are looking to maintain their unbeaten record when they play against Nice and Lyon on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, the Spanish Real Madrid striker, confirmed that he “stands in solidarity with Ceuta” and its residents, following his wrapping up the warm-up shirt before his team’s match against Elche. Which led to part of the support message printed on it being hidden.
Before the match, Real Madrid players wore T-shirts bearing the phrase: “We are all from Ceuta,” in reference to the residents of the Spanish city, which is located on the northern coast of Africa, while Mbappe and his teammates Vinicius Junior and Ibrahima Konate chose to roll the shirts up to hide part of the phrase.
“I want to make it completely clear so that people understand,” Mbappe said. The decision to put the shirt on and wear it was made by the two clubs, and we players had to wear it. The first thing I want to say is that I stand in full solidarity with Ceuta and with all the victims.”
The French player added: “Before I am a footballer, I am a human being, but I also wanted to make a gesture and think about all the immigrants who lost their lives and who live in difficult circumstances.”
He explained: “It was not easy to take this position; Because in the end people might think that I am against the people of Ceuta, but no; at all. I have nothing against them, I support them 100 percent, but I also wanted to think about all the people who are suffering; Because in the end, I am a human being and I do not want to give priority to one suffering at the expense of another.”
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) quoted Mbappe as saying: “There are people who are suffering, and this hurts me when I see what is happening in the world. I am a young man who wants the best for the world we live in. “I want to send a positive message and a message of peace, and I hope this situation will be resolved quickly.”
Last July, Ceuta witnessed tens of thousands of migrants crossing from Morocco by swimming and using primitive methods, in an incident that resulted in the death of more than 100 people.
Hansi Flick became the first Barcelona coach to win the team's first 7 matches of the season, as he defeated the leaders of the Spanish First Division, his rival, Racing Santander, with a score of 7-2 at the "Camp Nou" stadium, yesterday, Wednesday, to move 3 points away from Real Madrid, which is in second place.
Joao Cancelo opened the scoring for the hosts with a long-range shot after 8 minutes, before Rafinha scored from a penalty kick in the 25th minute after Pedro Felipe dropped him to the ground.
In contrast to the course of the match, Racing midfielder Majet Gueye reduced the gap in the 30th minute with a wonderful shot, before another long-range shot from Cancelo hit Racing player Asier Villalibre, scoring an own goal 6 minutes later.
Rafinha added his second personal goal in the 42nd minute after a pass from Dani Olmo, although Lamine Yamal missed the opportunity to raise the score to 5-1 before the end of the first half when his penalty kick was saved by goalkeeper Khulin Agirithabala.
Racing player Yasser Zaberi took advantage of a mistake by substitute goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to reduce the gap in the 65th minute, but Barcelona responded almost immediately. Karim Adeyemi was fouled inside the area for the second time, and Rafinha succeeded in converting his second penalty kick into the net to complete his hat-trick.
Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal completed the crushing victory by scoring two goals in the last 11 minutes of the match.
Barcelona tops the Spanish League standings with a full score, having gained 18 points from the first 6 matches, during which they scored 28 goals, while Santander occupies 10th place with 7 points.
Atletico Madrid achieved a comfortable 4-0 victory over Osasuna yesterday (Wednesday) at the Metropolitano Stadium, in a match that witnessed Canadian Jonathan David scoring a goal in his first major appearance with the team.
David is carrying high spirits into the summit match against Real Madrid on Sunday, after also scoring against Real Sociedad at the beginning of this week. Lee Kang-in, Robin Le Normand and Alex Baena also scored, in a match during which Atletico produced one of their best performances since the start of the season.
On the other hand, Julian Alvarez was absent from the squad while he continues to recover from a muscle injury, so his participation in the summit match remains in doubt.
Deportivo La Coruna suffered its first defeat this season, losing 0-1 to Sevilla at Riazor Stadium, while the match between Levante and Athletic Bilbao was postponed. Because the playing field was flooded with water.
