Le Classique ends in stalemate [0-0]

This game is always a big occasion for everyone here at the club: after 43 years without a defeat, the legend of Bordeaux-Marseille rolls on after another nail-biting night at the Matmut Atlantique. Before kick-off, Bordeaux paid tribute to a true club legend: Marius Trésor announced his retirement this week. The central defender was a commanding presence for both the Girondins and France throughout the 1980s, and did much to shape the legend of Bordeaux-Marseille.  The game got off to an intense start. Marseille almost spoiled the party early on, but Morgan Sanson failed to beat Benoît Costil with his lobbed effort (2’). Serious and focused, Bordeaux were moving the ball around well in midfield but struggling to find a gap in the visitors' defence. The first decent chance fell to Ui Jo Hwang in the 11th minute, but his shot was not powerful enough to get past Mandanda. Both sides enjoyed good spells of possession in the first half, but the Girondins looked tactically superior. That superiority gradually became clear as the Girondins took the upper hand and layed siege to the Marseille goal. Paulo Sousa's side looked the more hungry of the two teams, winning the aerial battles time after time. Otavio had a decent shot from distance (20’), but Mandanda was still relatively untroubled in the OM goal. Despite their dominance and best intentions, the Girondins let themselves down in the final third.  That all looked set to change in the 40th minute when Nicolas De Préville fired in a corner from the left, which Mandanda fumbled allowing Pablo to smash the ball into the back of the net. Unfortunately the VAR review revealed that the ball had made contact with the Brazilian's hand. The game remained goalless at the break, after a first half broadly dominated by Bordeaux with just one shot on goal for Marseille. With a little more luck the Girondins could have been in the lead. After the break the pace dropped slightly, and shots on goal were few and far between. It wasn't until the 73rd minute that the Girondins got another good look at goal, with a thumping drive from Toma Basic which rattled the woodwork from 30 yards out. In the last ten minutes the Girondins found themselves under pressure as the visitors enjoyed a late surge (76’, 81’, 86’). Marseille threw everything they had at the Girondins' defence, but that back line held firm. A hard-fought draw and a courageous display from Paulo Sousa's men. One thing remains unchanged: the last time Marseille beat the Girondins in Bordeaux the year was 1977.