This Sunday is like a feast for football lovers.
The menu offered, gourmet and plentiful, should satisfy all appetites, even the keenest: FC Barcelona-Real Madrid (4:15 p.m.), Manchester United-Liverpool (5:30 p.m.), Inter Milan-Juventus Turin (8:45 p.m.) and Olympique de Marseille-Paris Saint-Germain (8:45 p.m.).
In the past, it is the first course on the menu that would have been popular with palates.
But this season, many are those who salivate more over the last dish.
To discover
Ligue 1 fixtures and results
League 1 standings
SEE ALSO -
Kylian Mbappé's opening scoring against OM at the Stade Vélodrome last season
When FC Barcelona and Real Madrid were weakening ...
To make a good meal, the quality of the products is essential. It is clear that the Classic is now superior to the Clasico on this point, at least as regards the headliners. And this is largely thanks to the Parisian club. The arrival of Lionel Messi in the French capital last summer could alone explain it. In fact, in recent years Blaugrana and Merengue have lost some of their flavor as some of their best elements have left. In addition to the "Pulga", Andres Iniesta, Neymar, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez - to name a few - have left the Barcelona team over the seasons while Keylor Navas, Sergio Ramos, Raphaël Varane and especially Cristiano Ronaldo have closed the door of the White House behind them.
Read alsoWhy OM and Marseille vibrate again for football
This Spanish exodus, Paris Saint-Germain has benefited greatly since Neymar, Messi, Navas and Ramos - still unavailable this Sunday - have come to fill its ranks.
The disappointments, even the disillusions, suffered by the two ogres of the Spanish Liga on the European scene - we remember the stinging 2-8 defeat of FC Barcelona against Bayern Munich in August 2020 - these last seasons testify to their loss on sporting, even if Real remains on an appearance in the last four of the Champions League.
... Paris Saint-Germain was getting stronger
Generally speaking, when the two biggest Spanish formations weakened, the Reds and Blues grew stronger, to the point of creating the largest reunion of football stars since the Galactic era at the beginning of the 21st century. And today, the Barcelona and Madrid squads suffer from the comparison with that of Mauricio Pochettino: Keylor Navas, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marquinhos, Achraf Hakimi, Marco Verratti, Georginio Wijnaldum, Angel Di Maria, Neymar, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, de very many Parisian players are among the best, if not the very best in the world at their posts when Ronald Koeman and Carlo Ancelotti essentially have to deal with elements at the end of the cycle and young (high) hopes. The big matches are also the confrontation between big players and henceforth,neither FC Barcelona nor Real Madrid have an element of the caliber of Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappé, even if Karim Benzema has displayed a very high level for several years.
Read alsoOM-PSG: Sampaoli-Pochettino, the war of the worlds
So logically, the Clasico unleashes a little less passions while the Classic becomes more and more attractive. As proof: "
Obviously, the interest in Spain is higher than before, as proved by the figures of Messi's first match against Reims
[2.2 million viewers on average, and a peak at 6.7 million after
Mediaset
, a record for a match in a foreign championship, editor's note] ", confides to
AFP
a communications manager for the Kosmos group, which holds the marketing rights for the French elite in Spain. Before adding: “
There should be at least as many people (Sunday) as for this match. The Spanish public consumes French football because it consumes its stars.
"
OM become enticing again
If the Paris SG team is mouth watering on paper, Olympique de Marseille is not left out. Of course, the Marseille squad is not at the level of its rival or those of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, but it has improved considerably in recent months, to the point of becoming also enticing. Since Jorge Sampaoli took power in March, and even more since the start of the season, Dimitri Payet has regained his best level, the one he displayed under Marcelo Bielsa and at West Ham. Able to spice up a meeting with a pinch of creativity, he reminds those who doubted that he is one of the most talented players in Ligue 1 and one of the best in Europe in his record as the statistics underline it. . The indestructible and fiery Mattéo Guendouzi,the twirling Cengiz Ünder also gave taste to this Marseille formation. Just like the arrival of Arkadiusz Milik last winter, capable by his efficiency to change a meeting.
A tastier Ligue 1
Another element to take into account to understand the enthusiasm around the Classic: the transformation of Ligue 1. Long considered bland, the French elite has become tasty.
In recent months, the matches of the French championship are seasoned by intensity, embellished with goals and countless opportunities and spectators and viewers feast on the technical delights offered by the talents of France.
Read alsoJacques Cardoze, much more than a com director at OM
Now, even if everything remains to be confirmed, the L1 no longer has to be ashamed against its so-called big European sisters.
It even has all the ingredients to please gourmets.
One of the symbols of this revival is Jorge Sampaoli.
With his hybrid system, his philosophy of play carried forward, the former coach of the Albiceleste offers a show with his team.
For the moment, the Argentinian chef's cuisine is tasty and efficient.
This Sunday, it will therefore be the clash of two diametrically opposed styles: the ardor of the Marseille collective facing the Parisian mental strength and its myriad of stars.
Appetizing.
The Clasico remains unbeatable
Despite everything, if the interest in the Classic is growing, the Clasico remains, it must be said, unbeatable. Due to its historical aspect, the confrontation between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid is an event followed all over the world: at its peak, the meeting was still watched by more than half a billion people on the planet. While for its part, the match between Marseillais and Parisians still attracts mainly French insiders. Undoubtedly in part because the fans of the Blaugrana and the Merengue are much more numerous on the whole of the globe than those of the Phocéens and the Rouge et Bleu; even if its recent excellent performances in the Champions League allow Paris SG to considerably increase the ranks of its supporters. In Great Britain, land of football,Ligue 1 is in any case less followed than Liga BBVA. According to a survey
YouGov
published this week, only 12% of British football fans are said to be interested in the French league while they are almost double - 23% - to be interested in the Spanish league.
Read alsoPSG: Pochettino, when will immunity end?
This week, in an interview with
ESPN
, Karim Benzema also made a point of recalling the particular nature of the Spanish shock: “
It's the best football match in the world, regardless of the players who are here, those who have left. It's history. It's football. [Before Ronaldo and Messi] there was Zinédine Zidane, there was Ronaldinho, there was Ronaldo, there was Samuel Eto'o. The names change, but Real Madrid v Barcelona remains Real Madrid v Barcelona, regardless of the players. The pressure is different
“Said the center forward of the Blues.
This Sunday, the two meetings will not be in direct opposition.
Football fans will therefore not have to choose and will be able to enjoy the two beautiful posters.
After all, the appetite comes with eating.