PARIS: Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain stretched their lead in Ligue 1 to 13 points on Saturday after claiming a 2-1 victory away to Lorient with security tight after the attacks in Paris.
Playing for the first time since the attacks, the capital club extended their winning run to eight matches through first-half goals from Hervin Ongenda and Blaise Matuidi at the Stade du Moustoir.
Benjamin Moukandjo netted his league-best 10th goal to set up a nervy finish but Lorient ultimately suffered their first defeat in six outings.
“It’s very positive in the sense that we continue our very satisfying run,” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc.
“Even if the context in which we prepared for this match was difficult, I think we can be pleased tonight.
“I’m not going to hide from you that I really want to get back to Paris and be with my family though,” he added.
Tightened security checks were in place in Brittany, much like the rest of the country, just eight days after terrorist attacks in Paris and by the Stade de France left 130 people dead and more than 350 injured.
As on Friday prior to Nice’s 3-0 victory over Lyon, France’s national anthem, ‘La Marseillaise’, rang out around the ground before a minute’s silence was observed in memory of the victims.
Eleven doves of peace were released into the sky ahead of kick-off, while PSG players wore shirts adorned with the words “Je suis Paris” (I am Paris) below the club crest.
Blanc had admitted it would not be easy for his team to focus on football following last week’s atrocities but said none of his players had asked him to be left out of Saturday’s squad.
However, the league leaders were without Javier Pastore, Marco Verratti, Angel Di Maria and Ezequiel Lavezzi due to injury while David Luiz was rested to protect his knee from Lorient’s artificial surface.
PSG had won on each of their last four visits to Lorient and duly grabbed a 26th-minute lead through academy product Ongenda who poked home Gregory van der Wiel’s cross for his first goal in the French top flight.
Ongenda had a hand in the visitors’ second goal six minutes later, releasing Zlatan Ibrahimovic with the Swede then squaring for Matuidi to guide past Lorient goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte from close range.
Sylvain Ripoll’s hosts had lost just once since August and nearly found a way back into the contest when Raphael Guerreiro sent an effort just wide of Kevin Trapp’s right-hand post early into the second half.
Lorient did eventually pull one back on 82 minutes as Cameroon striker Moukandjo, who now has five goals in his last three matches, headed in substitute Romain Philippoteaux’s cross but it served as nothing more than a consolation.
Elsewhere, Mario Pasalic’s 43rd-minute goal earned Monaco a 1-0 victory over Nantes while Guingamp beat second-from-bottom Toulouse 2-0.
Montpellier made it five games unbeaten with a 3-1 defeat of a Reims side in freefall as they lost their sixth straight match.
Troyes remain winless following a 1-1 draw with Lille who were playing their first game following the sacking of coach Herve Renard.
Marseille travel to Saint-Etienne on Sunday with fourth-placed Caen at home to Angers, while the Corsican derby between Bastia and Gazelac Ajaccio was pushed back a day due to strong winds on Saturday.
On Friday, Nice climbed to third as Valere Germain and Vincent Koziello struck either side of a Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa own-goal to move them to within a point of second-placed Lyon.--AFP