With a 2-0 victory over Lens, the runners-up from the previous season, Paris Saint-Germain moved eight points clear atop Ligue 1 on Sunday thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and a penalty kick save by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
At the Stade Bollaert, Bradley Barcola gave PSG the lead with his second goal as the French champions won. Earlier, Donnarumma had saved a penalty kick from Przemyslaw Frankowski.
Mbappe scored his 19th league goal of the year in the 59th minute, as PSG fully capitalized on Nice and Monaco's mistakes this past weekend.
Although Lens is a very different team from the one that finished one point behind PSG in the previous season, they still have good home form, and their 11-game winning streak was broken right before the winter break.
Did you read this?
But their hopes of rallying were severely damaged when Jonathan Gradit was sent off for bringing down Barcola as the final defender late in the first half after a VAR review.
Five minutes in, Danilo fouled Elye Wahi inside the area, allowing Lens to take the lead as attention turned to Mbappe and his plans.
Frankowski perfectly placed his kick down the middle, but the enormous Donnarumma stayed in place and used his knees to block the ball.
Subsequently, the Italian goalkeeper deflected a Wahi shot, and Danilo's outstanding defensive play allowed Mbappe to break free and set up Barcola.
Mbappe marched forward and patiently waited for Barcola to enter behind the Lens defense. From a difficult angle, the young winger flawlessly finished past Brice Samba.
Gradit's red card only added to the challenge for Lens, who threatened intermittently in the second half without unduly troubling Donnarumma.
In the 89th minute, Mbappe drove low past Samba and into the far corner after receiving a pass from Ousmane Dembele to ensure the win.
PSG leads Nice by eight points after Nice's 2-0 loss at Rennes on Saturday. Brest is another team that needs to catch up, with Monaco dropping to fourth after losing to Reims 3-1 at home.
-1732263645.jpeg)