PSG bounced back from Champions League disappointment by making it six from six in Ligue 1 Conforama with a 3-1 win in Rennes, while Lyon carried their European form into a 4-2 Olympico win at home to Marseille.
As was the case in their 3-2 loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday, Paris Saint-Germain fell behind in their Week 6 Ligue 1 Conforama trip to Rennes. However, Thomas Tuchel's men once again found a way back into the match, this time going on to clinch a 3-1 win that saw them remain perfect with a five-point lead atop the standings.
Tuchel: 'Good for our confidence'
"This was a good reaction from us after the game at Anfield and then Rennes scoring first here. I am happy," said Tuchel, for whom newly signed striker Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting scored off the bench in his Ligue 1 Conforama debut. "We played with a lot of courage and intensity, notably in terms of our pressing. We have improved in that respect and we need to improve still more. We made it difficult for Rennes to defend. It was a difficult match but good for our confidence to have won it."
There was no joy for Hatem Ben Arfa - who signed for Rennes from PSG in the summer after a season spent frozen out of the senior team - as he looked to power on after scoring on his Rennes debut in the 2-1 Europa League win over Jablonec on Thursday. The attacking midfielder would also have had mixed feelings as two of his other former clubs - OL and OM - clashed in the Olympico on Sunday night.
Traoré stars as OL hit stride
Coming off their stunning 2-1 win away to Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, Olympique Lyonnais brought all their confidence to bear as they built on a solid first half to rout Marseille in the second, Burkina Faso international Bertrand Traoré starring with a coolly taken double.
"This has turned out to be a great week for us," said OL coach Bruno Genesio, whose side climbed to sixth, level on points with fifth-placed Marseille. "Even though it didn't start off that well [a 2-2 draw in Caen], it ended up marvelously. I loved how my team reacted in the second half, as getting forward and scoring three goals is no easy task. After our win in Manchester, we can't drop below a certain level. This was a stylish and spirited win and I'm very happy."
Meanwhile OM boss Rudi Garcia, who saw his side fall 2-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEL on Thursday, was circumspect in his disappointment: "The better team won, and we made too many defensive errors to hope to win it, and then we had one player injured and another sent off, ending with nine players. When you gift two goals to your opponent, especially in Lyon, it becomes mission impossible."
Les Dogues have their day
LOSC clinched their third win in four matches by outscoring FC Nantes 2-1 at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, Christophe Galtier's men moving into second place after maiden Ligue 1 goals for Jonathan Ikone and José Fonte made Kalifa Coulibaly's strike for Miguel Cardoso's struggling Canaris a mere consolation.
"We were up against a very good Nantes team. We managed to make the difference at important moments, and we managed to hold onto our lead," said Galtier, whose side barely beat the drop last season. "We have 13 points, but we need to keep demanding more from ourselves. We must appreciate this victory, but we must also remain lucid and not start thinking things will be easy."
La Paillade on the prodium as Strasbourg, Bordeaux shine
Montpellier pulled into third place with a 1-0 win at home to Nice, former Bordeaux striker Gaëtan Laborde scoring his first for La Paillade as Michel Der Zakarian's stretched their unbeaten run to five matches (three wins) while muzzling Mario Balotelli and Allan Saint-Maximin to stop Patrick Vieira's Aiglons from making it three wins in a row.
Strasbourg had the excellent Kenny Lala to thanks for a superb goal and the assist for Benjamin Corgnet's first for his new club as the easterners trumped Amiens 3-1, while Saint-Etienne bounced back from a Stéphane Ruffier goalkeeping howler to beat Caen 2-1, their first win since the opening day of the season and their first goals in four matches.
Despite their UEFA Europa League defeat away to Slavia Prague, Bordeaux claimed a third league win of the season by piling more misery on pointless Guingamp, beating them 3-1 at home thanks to goals from François Kamano, Yann Karamoh and Nicolas de Préville.
Monaco in 16th
Meanwhile Monaco's struggles continued as they followed up on a UEFA Champions League defeat to Atlético de Madrid with a 1-1 draw at home to promoted Nîmes, captain Radamel Falcao's third of the season sparing principality blushes but not enough to claim Leonardo Jardim's 2016-17 champions just a second win of their Ligue 1 Conforama campaign.
Toulouse hung onto fourth place with a scoreless draw away to Angers while promoted Reims - now goalless in three matches - were held to the same result at home to Dijon and slip to 11th after flying high early in the season with wins over Nice and Lyon in Weeks 1 and 2.
