Metz, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Ezequiel Lavezzi netted the winning tally six minutes from time on Friday as Paris Saint-Germain jumped to the top of the Ligue 1 table with a nervy 3-2 win over Metz at the Stade Saint- Symphorien.
PSG entered the contest in fine form, having won six straight matches across all competitions and the visiting side struck first after just nine minutes.
Javier Pastore did well to take the ball away from a Metz defender in the attacking half and went in on goal. He galloped inside the penalty area and chipped it over a diving Johan Carrasso for his first goal of the season.
Seven minutes later, PSG doubled its advantage when a free kick from Lavezzi deflected off Metz defender Gaetan Bussmann and wound up in the back of the net for the own goal.
The capital club went into the break with what looked to be an insurmountable lead, but Metz crept back into the match in the 49th minute after Adrien Rabiot brought down Sergey Krivets in the box for a penalty kick.
Modibo Maiga stepped up and smashed it into the bottom left corner to pull the hosts within one.
Four minutes later Metz pulled back the unlikely equalizer through a second Maiga penalty kick after a handball in the penalty area by PSG defender Gregory van der Wiel.
Buoyed by the second goal, Metz created a handful of quality scoring chances, but the strength of the defending champions proved to be too much as the match was decided in the 84th minute when a strike from Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked to be headed off the inside of the post and into the net, but Lavezzi made sure by hammering it home from close range at the far post.
The result takes PSG to the top of the table with 30 points, two clear of second-place Marseille, while Metz remain in ninth place on 18 points.
Also in Ligue 1 on this weekend, Monaco will look to snap a three-match winless streak across all competitions on Saturday when the club hosts Caen at the Stade Louis II.
Monaco's last victory came back on Oct. 25 with a 3-1 win over Bastia away from home. Since then, the club has drawn against Reims and Saint Etienne and suffered a 1-0 defeat to Portuguese side Benfica in the Champions League on Nov. 4.
Last time out, Monaco grabbed the lead after 17 minutes through Lacina Traore, but they couldn't hold the lead as former Norwich City man Ricky van Wolfswinkel netted the equalizer for Les Verts in the 58th minute.
Lyon will go after a sixth straight win in league play on Saturday when the club travels to the Stade Armand-Cesari to battle Bastia.
Guingamp welcomes Rennes to the Stade du Roudourou hoping to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Lyon last time out, while Lorient hosts Lens at the Stade du Moustoir looking to snap a two-game slide.
Finally on Saturday, Nice will try to end a three-match losing streak across all competitions when the club welcomes Reims to the Stade Municipal du Ray.
On Sunday, Saint Etienne will shoot to snap a streak of three straight draws when Les Verts travel to the Stade de la Beaujoire to face Nantes, while Montpellier welcomes Toulouse to the Stade Municipal de Toulouse.
Sunday's final match sees Marseille try to bounce back from a 2-0 loss to PSG last time out, looking for a win over Bordeaux at the Stade Velodrome.
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