PARIS: Olympique Marseille players witnessed firsthand how big the gap is between them and the top sides of Ligue 1 as they slumped to a humiliating 5-1 loss to bitter rivals Paris St Germain on Sunday.

In a game that used to be the biggest in French football, hosts Marseille were outclassed in every aspect and were already trailing by two goals after 16 minutes.

Marseille’s defensive frailties were constantly exposed afterward and the home side could have been handed a heavier loss.

The result left PSG second in Ligue 1 with 59 points from 27 games, three behind leaders Monaco and ahead of third-place Nice on goal difference. Marseille sit seventh, lagging 23 points behind Monaco.

Known as “Le Classique,” the match between PSG and Marseille became popular during the 1990s when the arrival of prominent stars such as Rudi Voeller and George Weah in France ignited a strong rivalry.

But Marseille, the only French team to win the Champions League back in 1993, have fallen well behind since PSG was taken over by Qatari investors in 2011. Since the club’s last victory in November 2011, Marseille have lost 12 and drawn two.

Marseille’s new owner Frank McCourt has pledged to spend 200 million euros (about $210 million) over the next four years to make the team competitive again, and the recent arrivals of Dimitri Payet and Patrice Evra had boosted fans’ hopes that their team would be able to compete with PSG.

But the vociferous home fans were silenced after just six minutes at the Stade Velodrome when skipper Thiago Silva rose to powerfully nod the ball back across goal and fellow Brazilian defender Marquinhos headed home unchallenged.

That opened the floodgates and Edinson Cavani, Lucas, Julian Draxler and Blaise Matuidi added to the scoring as PSG stretched their unbeaten record in all competitions to 15 matches.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2017