Andre-Pierre Gignac's double has given Marseille a 2-1 lead over Paris Saint-Germain at the halfway stage of their Ligue 1 clash this evening.

Javier Pastore had the first chance of the match when he was slipped through on goal by Marco Verratti, but he placed his effort inches wide of the far post.

Marseille threatened with a strike of their own soon after when Mario Lemina was picked out on the edge of the box from a corner, before firing the ball high over bar.

PSG were finding plenty of space in the final third and Edinson Cavani wasted a decent opportunity when he mishit a close-range volley straight at Steve Mandanda.

However, it was Marseille who broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark, as Gignac rose at the back post to meet Dimitri Payet's cross and thump a powerful header beyond the reach of Salvatore Sirigu.

The visitors were dealt a further blow just minutes later when David Luiz pulled up with a hamstring injury and was unable to continue

PSG responded well to those setbacks and in the 35th minute they were back on level terms, as Blaise Matuidi worked some room on the edge of the box, before curling an effort into the top corner.

It appeared as though the teams would head into the break on level terms, but just two minutes before half time Verratti was caught in possession and the ball broke to Gignac, who raced through on goal to slide an effort past Sirigu and restore the home side's lead.

Gignac almost completed his hat-trick in first-half stoppage time, but his header was tipped over by Sirigu as Marseille headed towards their dressing room with a one-goal lead.