A Moise Kean double helped Paris Saint-Germain to a 4-0 home win over Dijon as the champions returned to the top of the table. Olympique de Marseille won 1-0 at Lorient thanks to Leonardo Balerdi's first goal for the club.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 4-0 DIJON
THE MATCH
Thomas Tuchel sprung a surprise by naming Danilo in defence and Marquinhos in midfield, while Kylian Mbappé and Presnel Kimpembe were among those rested to the bench. PSG made the ideal start (3') as they scored with the first effort of the match. Marquinhos spread the play to Mitchel Bakker on the left and the young Dutchman crossed for Kean to volley home.
Mama Baldé had a shot blocked by Abdou Diallo (6') and then Neymar headed a Pablo Sarabia cross against the woodwork (8') before missing the follow-up. Eric Junior Dina-Embimbe, 19, strode forward and wasn't far away from finding the corner for the visitors (20').
PSG's second goal came from a blistering counter-attack following a Dijon corner. Neymar - who scored four against Dijon in January 2018 - carried the ball a huge distance before squaring for Kean to finish into the unguarded net (23'). Dijon were creating chances and Mounir Chouiar (25') brought the best out of Sergio Rico, filling in for the rested Keylor Navas. Baldé (33') wasted another chance before Danilo (35') almost marked his home debut with a goal.
The second half saw far fewer chances and Rico saved from Dina-Embimbe (57') before the mobile Baldé fired wide (75'). Neymar, who took the captain's armband when Marquinhos was substituted, didn't quite get enough elevation on a chip (77'). Substitute Mbappé got on the scoresheet for the fifth time this league season when he finished left-footed after an astute Neymar pass (82'). Goal number six for the French international forward followed soon after as he finished off a lovely move involving Neymar and Sarabia (88').
Tuchel will make changes to his starting eleven for the vital Champions League match at Turkish club Basaksehir on Wednesday when a repeat of this result would suit the German and his players nicely.
THE PLAYER: Moise Kean
On loan from Everton, the Italian international looked far more convincing than he had been on debut against Nîmes or as a substitute against Manchester United in midweek. With only 23 minutes on the clock, Kean had already managed as many league goals in this match as he did in the entire 2019-2020 Premier League season for Everton. Kean was substituted with 17 minutes to play.
THE STAT: 6
Paris Saint-Germain have beaten Dijon in all six meetings at the Parc des Princes of the two clubs.
LORIENT 0-1 MARSEILLE
Having lost 1-0 at Olympiakos in their Champions League opener on Wednesday, André Villas-Boas declared Lorient a "must-win" game for OM. Argentinean Balerdi, loaned to OM by Borussia Dortmund, started for the first time since September 17 and the defender did well against Alvaro Gonzalez and capped his display with the 54th-minute winner after a Paul Nardi mistake. Lorient's Quentin Boisgard had hit the post two minutes earlier.
OM have now gone 12 away matches in Ligue 1 Uber Eats without defeat, winning nine of those games, and they achieved this narrow success in a tight match despite Dimitri Payet being suspended.
