It would appear that Christophe Galtier's LOSC are doing the unthinkable - giving Paris Saint-Germain a run for their money! Les Dogues have been in scintillating form in 2020-21 and Sunday night's clash with Lorient was no exception.

Yazici, David fire

Yusuf Yazici doubled up before Luis Araujo blasted home and Jonathan David - finally! - bagged his first since arriving from Gent on a club-record €35m move in the summer, helping LOSC to a 4-0 win that took them to within two points of leaders PSG - and coach Christophe Galtier was well pleased with what he saw.

"Yusuf is on a good dynamic; he is very skilful in front of goal. As a second striker or as a no. 10, when you have someone who is skilful, it offers a lot of possibilities," said the LOSC boss of his Turkey international playmaker, whom he will doubtless be counting on in the Europa League clash with Milan on Thursday. "He has a strong relationship with Jonathan [David], they played together in Milan [a 3-0 Europa League victory]. Tonight they were very good defensively, they were very precise in their positioning. I found them very complementary. It's good for a coach when players create a strong connection."

Volland takes charge

However, LOSC's closing the gap on PSG was also made possible by a stellar performance from AS Monaco striker Kevin Volland who, in the absence of France goal machine Wissam Ben Yedder, did the damage as PSG came calling on Friday night.

Despite Kylian Mbappé's scoring twice to put his side in the lead - and move atop the Ligue 1 Uber Eats scoring chart with nine goals - Volland stepped up and scored twice to level matters before earning the penalty that saw substitute Cesc Fabregas lash home from the spot to clinch the dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind win at the Stade Louis II.

Kovac on PSG: 'They're only human'

While PSG boss Thomas Tuchel described the loss as "bizarre" before announcing that a fit-again Neymar - who came off the bench in Monaco - would be starting against Leipzig in the capital club's mid-week Champions League clash, Monaco boss Niko Kovac felt the result made sense.

"I'm pleased with the reaction. In the first half we were afraid. But that's not necessary: if you play fast, if you play one-touch football, you have every chance; they're only human," said the former Bayern Munich boss. "Volland? I'm not surprised. I knew what he could bring us. I knew it was only a matter of time."

Der Zakarian: 'Could have scored more'

The win takes Monaco to fifth, level on points with Lyon - who had Tino Kadewere's fourth goal in five appearances to thank for a 1-0 win over a feisty Angers side - and Montpellier, who denied Strasbourg just a third win of the season as they prevailed in a 4-3 thriller at the Stade de la Mosson.

"I am very happy with the victory. If we win all our matches 4-3, that's fine with me. We played a big match. We were very good with the ball, collectively. We scored four goals and we could have scored more. We showed character," said Montpellier coach Michel Der Zakarian, for whom Andy Delort bagged a brace. "We knew that Strasbourg could put us in trouble with set-pieces and long balls. It's a good ratio, to have 20 points after 11 games. It's up to us to go on to an even longer run."

Brest power on, Ben Arfa breaks Bordeaux duck

So too Brest were among the goals, although in the case of Olivier Dall'Oglio's side, it was one-way traffic as they demolished Saint-Etienne - who equalled the club's worst-ever run of seven-straight defeats - 4-0.

Hatem Ben Arfa hit his first goal for Bordeaux, clinching a 1-0 win over former club Rennes - who have a Champions League date with Chelsea on Tuesday - to break a two-match losing streak, while Nîmes had Renaud Ripart's penalty to thank for the 1-0 win over Reims that halted their four-match skid and pushed them up to 15th.

Calm before the storm

Aaron Leya Iseka rescued a point for Metz as his spot-kick cancelled out Randal Kolo Muani's thunderous opener in a 1-1 draw in Nantes, while the Mediterranean derby between Marseille - who face Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday - and Nice - who take on Europa League rivals Slavia Parague on Thursday - at the Stade Vélodrome was called off due to a spate of COVID-19 infections in the Aiglons squad.