Ousmane Dembélé was the star of the show as PSG went two points clear at the top.
Paris Saint-Germain went at least temporarily to the top of Ligue 1 by beating Lille 3-0 at the Parc des Princes thanks to a masterclass from Ousmane Dembélé.
PSG have put the disappointment of their Coupe de France elimination at the hands of neighbors Paris FC behind them, with Ballon d’Or winner Dembele shining once again in the City of Lights.
Dembele opened the scoring in the 13th minute, firing past the post from the edge of the area to calm Luis Enrique’s men after a nervous start.
He then delighted the Parc des Princes crowd just under 20 minutes into the second half, displaying artistry and precision to produce a lofted finish over Berke Ozer, who could only watch in awe as Lille had a mountain to climb.
The visitors never looked like fighting back, and PSG added a late third goal through Bradley Barcola as they secured a victory that put them two points clear of surprise package Lens, who face Auxerre on Saturday.
Dembele sends PSG to the top
PSG had a scare when Olivier Giroud sent a brazen lob against the crossbar from the same side where Dembele would score his contender’s goal of the season.
Ethan Mbappe was denied by Lucas Chevalier on the follow-up, and Kylian Mbappe’s younger brother then brought another save at his former teammate’s near post as Lille looked to stun the home crowd.
Those hopes dwindled when Lille lost possession deep in their own half and Vitinha passed the ball to Dembele, who scored the opener with a fierce effort off the post.
PSG struggled to make the most of their obvious superiority after taking the lead, although Nuno Mendes had the ball in the net 12 minutes into the second half, only to see his effort ruled out for offside.
Seven minutes later, however, Dembélé doubled PSG’s lead in incredible fashion, expertly keeping the ball from three Lille defenders before proceeding to lob from each of them and Ozer, who could only watch helplessly as he failed to get back on his line in time to prevent a marvelous finish.
Désiré Doué, credited with the assist for this display of individual brilliance, then came close to making the scoreline more emphatic, but the third goal which ensured a clearer reflection of the gulf between the two teams only came in injury time, when Barcola pushed Aissa Mandi into an error and fumbled into an empty net.
