Olympique Marseille 3-0 PSG: Derby despair

Highlights - OM 3-0 PSGThe PSG players have been in for extra training this morning. “This session is closed to the public” reports the official club site gravely.It was probably a good move for the squad’s protection to keep the fans out, though I would have been interested to know what exactly they were practicing. On the basis of last night’s game they could do with brushing up on a few things: tackling, passing, shooting, little details like that.As you can probably gather, last night’s Clasico was more disastrous than Jeremy Menez’s latest trip to the barbers. Fair play to Marseille, who bossed the match from start to finish and were superior in every department from the moment Loic Remy hung in the air to nod in Cesar Azpilicueta’s long...

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Know your enemy: Olympique Marseille

PSG's good start to the season has perhaps been made all the more sweet by the struggle of our rivals from the south.After winning the title in 2010, and finishing runners up in 2011, Champions League qualification in 2012 is going to be a big ask for Didier Deschamps' Marseille. Ahead of tonight's Clasico at the Stade Veledrome (9pm), they languish in tenth in the Ligue 1 table, 15 points behind PSG and a hefty 10 behind third-placed Lille, albeit with a game in hand.To make matters worse, a 1-0 midweek defeat to Olympiacos means OM now face a winner takes all clash with Borussia Dortmund to decide who progresses to the knock-out stage.The possible reasons for Marseille's poor form this season are myriad, and explored nicely in this excellent...

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Player profile: Salvatore Sirigu

Name: Salvatore SiriguDOB: January 12 1987Former clubs: Palermo, Cremonese (loan), Ancona (loan)Signed: July 2011, €3.5millionInternational honours: Full Italian internationalThis is the first PSGT player profile, so perhaps it’s fitting that it concerns the club’s number one. Technically Salvatore Sirigu wears the number 30 shirt, but since his summer arrival the Italian has firmly established himself as PSG’s first choice stopper.Sirigu was born in Sardinia, but moved to a slightly less classy island (sorry Mafioso, but it’s true) to further his footballing career, joining Sicilian side Palermo as a youngster.Though he made his debut in November 2006 against Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia, Sirigu’s first prolonged taste of first team action...

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Parisiens derailed by Nancy boys

Not AK's funeral, although I'm sure he'd be happy to meet the masked lady Sorry for the lack of blog activity recently. I’ve been hampered by a lack of internet access (thanks Plusnet), which has only just been resolved.The Ligue One season got back up and running this weekend, and PSG hit an unexpected bump in the road when they were beaten 1-0 by Nancy at the Parc yesterday. Jean Calve scored the only goal as Jean Fernandez’s side secured their first away win of the season.For under-pressure boss Antoine Kombouare it was a result which was about as welcome as a Sepp Blatter appearance at the MOBO awards. I say “under-pressure boss” because this is the ridiculous situation we’re in now, whereby every slightly dodgy result sparks speculation...

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PSG stars go international

With no Ligue 1 action this weekend, they’ll be plenty of people with some extra free time on their hands.Personally I plan to spend my days looking at pictures of cats in sinks, but if international football is more your thing, then check out the PSG players who are in action for their respective countries.France have a match tonight against the USA (8pm), before hosting Belgium on Tuesday (8pm). Mamadou Sakho, Jeremy Menez, and Kevin Gameiro will all be hoping to get some pitch time for Laurent Blanc’s team.The Italy squad features Salvatore Sirigu, who will probably be performing bench-warming duties in their friendlies with Poland (Today) and Uruguay (Tuesday). In Tuesday’s match he’ll probably come face to face with Diego Lugano, who is...

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Ancelotti rumours not poppy-cock

No doubt what the week’s number one football story has been: Poppies have been everywhere, and I’m not talking about Kettering Town.COMMON SENSE HAS PREVAILED seems to be the mantra of the day after FIFA relented and decided to allow England to wear black armbands with poppies on during their friendly with Spain to mark Remembrance Day.Without wishing to seem disrespectful, I think common sense went out the window several days ago, and some of the behaviour of our public figures (hello David Cameron) has been beyond parody. But there we go, at least now everyone is happy, including the EDL.It’s not clear whether or not Carlo Ancelotti was wearing a poppy during his two day visit to Paris, but what is obvious is that his trip to the capital...

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Bordeaux 1-1 PSG: Momo on the go-go as attackers falter

“After a thunderous start, Ligue 1 is running out of steam,” declared France Football today, describing the latest round of matches as “boring”.On the basis of last night’s 1-1 draw between Bordeaux and PSG, it’s difficult to argue too much. Les Rouges-et-Bleu’s attacking quartet failed to sparkle, and it was left to Momo Sissoko of all people to head us in front in the tenth minute before Yoan Gouffran grabbed an equaliser for the Girondins three minutes later.Bordeaux had the better chances to take all three points, and it took some good saves from Salvatore Sirigu to preserve our unbeaten run.I may have mentioned before that I’m not a big fan of Sissoko, but the Malian yellow-card machine is beginning to show signs of some decent form, having...

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Rivals falter as PSG target rare Bordeaux win

One of my few visits to the Parc was for a match between PSG and Bordeaux at the end of 2009/10PSG won 3-1 that day, defeating a Laurent Blanc-managed side who were in the final throws of their stint as league champions, and whose line-up contained the likes of Yoaan Gourcuff and Marouane Chamakh"I don't really trust statistics," said AK, ever the killjoy. "Bordeaux's record is two wins, six draws and four defeats and they have yet to win at home. That will obviously happen at some point and I hope that is doesn't happen on Sunday evening."Amen to that, and it's lucky Kombouare is a stat-sceptic as PSG's record in Bordeaux does not make for pretty reading, with just one win there in the last 21 encounters at the Stage Cheban Delmas. But with...

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PSG 1-0 Slovan Bratislava: Nobody does it better than El Flaco

I love James Bond films, but can't really get excited about the announcement yesterday of 007's latest outing, Skyfall.Firstly because the last Bond, Quantum of Solice, was a confusing, plot-less, mess, and secondly Skyfall is a terrible title - it sounds like a new model of Japanese car: The Suzuki Skyfall, coming to a forecourt near you.The Spy Who Loved Me (with Roger Moore, above) is my favourite Bond movie, and PSG's 1-0 win over Slovan Bratislava in the Europa League brought to mind the wonderful theme song by Carly Simon. Because nobody does it better for the PSG than Javier Pastore, who netted the only goal of the game with a back-post volley from Nene's cross."Against Montpellier I scored the same type of goal," said the ever-modest...

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PSG brothers prepare for Slovan Bratislava clash

The Waughs. The Charltons. The, er, Nevilles. Siblings in sport are commonplace, and apparently a new pair has popped up in Paris recently."Tonight there will again be more than 30,000 spectators at the Parc des Princes. But to see which PSG?” muses today’s Parisien. “The one bursting with health, flying in the championship? Or it’s twin that remains on two defeats and a draw in the cups (Europa League and the Coupe de Ligue)?”It’s fair to say that the contrast between the PSG’s record breaking, six-wins-in-a-row, league form and their patchy cup record is a stark one, but I think that only highlights what an early stage the Qatari “project” is at. AK has been rotating like a crazed spinning top this season, and at the moment we don’t have...

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