PARIS (AP) — French league leader Marseille travels to fourth-placed Lens on Saturday for a matchup between two sides combining defensive solidity with attacking flair.
Chasing a first Ligue 1 title since 2010, nine-time champion Marseille has delivered a strong start to the season and boasts the league's best attack and defense — 21 goals scored and just seven conceded.
Lens, meanwhile, shares the league's best defensive record. It has scored fewer goals than Marseille (12), but the addition this summer of 2018 World Cup winner Florian Thauvin and Odsonne Édouard have significantly strengthened Pierre Sage's attacking options. The former Lyon coach will manage his 50th Ligue 1 match against Marseille.
Marseille heads north after seeing its five-game winning streak in all competitions snapped midweek with a 2-1 Champions League defeat at Sporting.
Following years of Paris Saint-Germain dominance, this season has been as tight as it gets. After eight rounds, just four points separate Marseille from seventh-placed Monaco.
PSG, which demolished Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 in midweek Champions League action, remains the heavy favorite to retain its title despite trailing Marseille by one point.
Returning from injury, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé scored against the German side and is expected to be back on the domestic stage when PSG visits 12th-placed Brest on Saturday.
Third-placed Strasbourg plays at Lyon on Sunday and Lille hosts bottom club Metz.
PSG midfielder Senny Mayulu, who came off the bench to score his team's final goal in the Champions League final, shows no signs of slowing down.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who broke into the first team during the 2023–2024 campaign, has continued to grow in influence this season, starting all three of PSG's Champions League matches.
Despite a minor thigh injury earlier this month that kept him from joining the France Under-21 squad, Mayulu was decisive last week, rescuing a 3-3 draw for PSG against Strasbourg.
Sent off for the second time this season during Metz’s 4–0 defeat to Toulouse, Sadibou Sané has been handed a three-match suspension by the league's disciplinary commission for a dangerous challenge on Cristian Cásseres.
The Metz defender had already been banned for three matches following his straight red card against Paris FC in August.
Lille president Olivier Létang has been handed a one-match suspension and a further two suspended matches by the disciplinary commission for his remarks against referees.
After Lille’s 1–0 defeat to Lyon last month, Letang said there was a deep-rooted problem with refereeing in France. "Every weekend, in almost every match, there are problems. And the issue is that there’s no dialogue. The people at the head of the French Football Federation don’t have the skills to manage what’s needed,” he said.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Kicks or Treats: Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks! Read moreKicks or Treats Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks
Burlingame High School Panther Theater group brings Neil's Simon's farce Rumors to life on O… Read moreNeil Simon's Rumors: Burlingame High School Drama
BSA Troop 44 invites all 5th-8th grade boys and girls to our annual Canoe Day event! Meet ou… Read moreBoys & girls grades 5th - 8th: Join us for Canoe Day!
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.