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Marseille ended a run of nine games without victory over arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain thanks to Lorik Cana's late strike against his former team.
An embarrassing sequence of eight straight wins for PSG was ended by a draw last term, but this was the result all of Marseille wanted, and there could have been no more satisfying way to exorcise those demons than through their Albanian midfielder – whose transfer in the summer stirred such bitter emotions all round.
As much as that blow will have stung, the Parisians got their first shock of the evening before the match even began, as players and staff complained of a strong smell of ammonia in their changing-room. It took 20 minutes for another room to be converted into a makeshift base and Coach Laurent Fournier had to be treated by doctors for dizziness.
It was an incident typical of the shenanigans that surround OM-PSG encounters, but Fournier had a surprise of his own to give in the form of the capital outfit's teamsheet. Whereas most people expected Fabrice Pancrate to replace the suspended Pedro Pauleta up front alongside Bonaventure Kalou – including Pancrate himself – it was former CSKA Moscow man Sergei Semak who got the nod for a rare start.
The Marseille first eleven was a far more predictable affair, with Fabien Barthez making his return after a six-month suspension to a rapturous welcome from the 57,000 supporters crammed into the Stade Vélodrome. And the former Manchester United custodian was soon called into action as Kalou latched onto a Vikash Dhorasoo pass and raced towards goal. Barthez rushed of his line, the Ivorian forward attempted a lob and the crowd held their breath as his effort breezed just wide of the mark.
The hosts responded soon enough, and this time it was stand-in PSG 'keeper Jérôme Alonzo who was relieved to see the ball fly past his post when Franck Ribéry tried his luck after good work from Wilson Oruma.
Ribéry was again in excellent form for Marseille, with another display of clever passing, acceleration and dribbling skills that have earned him comparisons with local legend Chris Waddle, but Dhorasoo was equally impressive for the visitors as the entertaining match continued at an electric pace.
Marseille slowly took the upper hand, however, and Ribéry was adamant he should have had a penalty when challenged by Sylvain Armand just inside the area. Referee Poulat thought otherwise, the video images were inconclusive, and PSG went about creating a danger of their own when Jérôme Rothen fired in a free-kick from 30 metres out that Barthez caught with minimal fuss.
The 1998 World Cup winner needed all his class to keep out Semak moments later, though, and he showed he has lost none of his sharpness with a superb save after the Russian found himself through on goal. It was end-to-end stuff at this point, and OM so nearly took the lead through Christian Giminez almost immediately after, only for Mario Yepes to intercept on the line with Alonzo beaten.
Kalou then blasted wide for PSG, but it was the home side who had the last word at the end of the half with Sabri Lamouchi volleying well over from Mamadou Niang's dangerous cross.
Goals were the only thing missing, yet it looked increasingly likely that they would not come as the second-half quickly settled into a pattern of Marseille attacking and their rivals soaking up the pressure thanks to a solid performance at the back from Yepes and his Swiss partner David Rozehnal.
Ribéry was imperious in midfield and everything passed through him as Marseille pushed forward to convert their dominance into a breakthrough of some kind. Right-back Demetrius Ferreira had a shot deflected narrowly wide, Lamouchi forced Alonzo into a double-fisted save and Niang should have done better with a good chance after 64 minutes, but the best opportunity of all fell to the former Metz and Galastasaray star. Oruma set him loose on the right but despite having with both time on his side and the whole target to aim at, Ribéry grazed the bar with an impetuous drive.
That miss seemed to sum up the evening for Jean Fernandez's team, but they were not finished yet and there was more than a hint of the inevitable when Cana headed in from Samir Nasri's corner with 11 minutes to go. Without the formidable Pauleta leading the line, PSG seemed to lack belief that they could pull themselves level and, apart from a Yepes header that flew wide, they offered little to suggest Barthez would not be celebrating his comeback with a clean sheet.
Indeed, Marseille saw out the rest of the game in comfort to earn an invigorating triumph over their old foes and drag themselves up to seventh in the standings – three points shy of PSG. Fournier's team stay second, but they are now a full seven points behind frontrunners Lyon and will need all their Coach's motivational skills to lift them for the challenges ahead.
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