Paris Saint-Germain completed a fine week by beating bitter rivals Marseille 3-1 on Sunday, March 16, to take a big step towards another Ligue 1 title, while the clash between relegation battlers Montpellier and Saint-Etienne was abandoned due to crowd trouble.
PSG followed their Champions League victory over Liverpool on Tuesday by getting the better of Marseille at the Parc des Princes in a meeting of the top two in Ligue 1.
Ousmane Dembele continued his prolific recent form by scoring the opener and Nuno Mendes made it 2-0 for PSG before half-time, with Pol Lirola’s own goal securing victory in the second half after Amine Gouiri had pulled one back.
Luis Enrique’s side are still unbeaten after 26 games in Ligue 1 this season and now lead Marseille by a mammoth 19 points at the top with eight matches to play.
It means PSG could be crowned champions for the 11th time in 13 seasons during the next round of games on the last weekend in March. If Marseille lose at Reims and Monaco draw with Nice on Saturday, March 29, Paris would be able to wrap up the title with a win at Saint-Etienne the same day.
« This has been an exceptional week for us, » said Luis Enrique. « It was a good spectacle and a great game. We were maybe not quite as fluid as we have been but I am still very happy with the performance and it was an almost perfect night for us. »
Unsavoury scenes
In Montpellier, the clash between the bottom two was interrupted in the second half after flares were thrown by supporters, briefly causing a fire to break out in a stand at the Stade de la Mosson.
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Saint-Etienne were leading Montpellier 2-0 when the action was halted in the 57th minute, with a decision taken to abandon the match altogether shortly after. Local police reported seven minor injuries and two arrests.
The trouble erupted just after Saint-Etienne’s second goal went in, while incidents also took place outside the stadium.
The hotel where the Saint-Etienne team were staying had also been targeted overnight, with fireworks launched at its facade at around 3:00 am local time, although police said there were no injuries or serious damage caused.
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