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Paris Saint-Germain left-back Maxwell is looking forward to the fervour of the first showdown of the season between the French champions and their bitter rivals, Olympique de Marseille, in Le Classique on Sunday. Speaking with the capital club's official website, the veteran Brazilian fondly recalled his first experience of France's premiere grudge match and the special ambiance created by the fierce foes. "My first Classique was our 2-1 win when Alex scored a header," Maxwell added. "Yes, I remember it! It was the first time that I experienced this different atmosphere. "We won thanks to Alex's goal and the supporters were overjoyed! It is always great to beat our rivals from Marseille and to experience such fervent support in our own stadium." Maxwell, 35, is into his sixth season with PSG and the evergreen defender has enjoyed plenty of dominance in Le Classique during that time. However, despite Les Parisiens' hegemony over Marseille, the South American revealed clashes with Les Phoceens never fail to get the "adrenaline" flowing and "weekly" talk of the fixture creates a "feeling in the stomach." The former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Ajax man remembered his equalising goal in a PSG's 2-1 win away at Marseille back in 2013 with particular satisfaction. "I knew that the goal was important, as we were a man down and struggling after losing a player who set our tempo in Thiago Motta," Maxwell said. "But, just before half-time, we scored this goal that gave us some breathing room to regroup and go for the win despite our numerical inferiority. "After the equaliser, we returned to the dressing room. We discussed the situation so we could react and organise ourselves to get the win. Late on, Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] scored the second goal. Then we played well until the end of the match and held out for the win. We were so happy!" Scoring was a main reason why Maxwell cherishes that match but it was also the game when PSG really found their feet under then new coach Laurent Blanc and displayed a resilience that has yet to disappear. "I also think that getting that win in Marseille did us a lot of good," PSG's No. 17 continued. "It showed us that we were capable of playing well even when we were a man down. It helped us to detect one of the team's big strengths." Marseille have not beaten PSG since a 3-0 win at Stade Velodrome back in 2011 and will visit Parc des Princes this weekend with a new coach, Rudi Garcia, in charge for the first time after his Friday unveiling.
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