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Bradley Barcola scored, and Desire Doue had a penalty saved as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) held on for a 1-0 win away to Le Havre on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table to four points.
PSG were looking to take advantage of another slip-up by title rivals Lens, who were held to a 1-1 draw away at Strasbourg on Friday to go two games without a win.
Luis Enrique’s side duly got the job done with Barcola heading in from a Lee Kang-in cross on 37 minutes for his ninth goal of the season.
It was not a full-strength PSG, with Ousmane Dembele again out injured along with Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves, while skipper Marquinhos was among the players rested.
Doue came off the bench in the second half and won a penalty with just over 10 minutes remaining, but his kick was kept out by Le Havre goalkeeper Mory Diaw diving to his right. PSG have converted only five of their 10 spot-kicks this season.
Diaw also produced a fine reaction save from Nuno Mendes while PSG goalkeeper Matfei Safonov made a key stop to deny Issa Soumare at the other end.
“There are no nice and easy games for PSG because every match is important. We need to get players back and improve because we have less confidence than usual at the moment,” said Luis Enrique.
The reigning European champions are gearing up for a Champions League last-16 tie against Chelsea and have now won nine out of 10 Ligue 1 games played since the start of December.
“It is the first time we have had a four-point gap at the top, so this is a time for us to be happy. It was important to get the win here,” added the coach.
Elsewhere in France on Saturday, Rennes made it two wins out of two under new coach Franck Haise as they beat Toulouse 1-0 in Brittany thanks to Arnaud Nordin’s first-half goal.
Monaco got back on track after losing to PSG in their Champions League play-off tie as USA star Folarin Balogun and Simon Adingra scored in a 2-0 win over Angers.
Balogun, who is expected to be a key player for the United States at the World Cup, now has 12 goals this season in all competitions, including four in his last four games.
Marseille, in fourth play host to third-placed Lyon on Sunday in a key game in the fight for Champions League qualification.
Pablo Longoria left his position as Marseille president on Saturday evening, the Spaniard departing after five years to be replaced on an interim basis by Alban Juster.
Longoria’s departure comes amid a period of turbulence at the 1993 European champions, who saw coach Roberto De Zerbi leave just under three weeks ago in the wake of a 5-0 defeat away to PSG and their elimination from the Champions League.
De Zerbi has been replaced in the dugout by Habib Beye. Director of football Medhi Benatia recently announced he was stepping down, before it was confirmed he would stay on until the end of the season at the club owned by US tycoon Frank McCourt.
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