Brest, France – PSG placed additional pressure on Lyon by claiming a 3-0 win over Brest at the Stade Francis-Le Ble on Friday to go three points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
Brest was in a difficult position before the stroke of halftime as it was reduced to 10 men when Abdoulwhaid Sissoko was sent off in the 34th minute.
The visitors ultimately took advantage of the extra man as Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck in the 55th minute, grabbing his Ligue 1-leading 18th goal of the season.
Kevin Gameiro doubled the advantage in the 72nd minute to put PSG firmly in the driver's seat, while an own goal from Bernard Mendy in stoppage time added insult to injury for Brest, which remains on 21 points.
PSG improves to 38 points, leaving Lyon with all to do if it wishes to climb back level on points with Carlo Ancelotti's men.
With Friday's three-goal victory, PSG has a goal differential of plus-24, 11 goals better than Lyon. As long as both clubs keep winning, Lyon will have some ground to make up in the scoring department, starting with its match against Nice at the Stade de Gerland on Saturday.
Marseille also comes into the weekend on 35 points and will look to keep pace with Lyon and PSG. The club, which has won two straight, will face St. Etienne at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Toulouse will hope to snap a two-game losing skid and four- game winless run when it hosts lowly Sochaux at the Stade Municipal de Toulouse and Valenciennes will try to end a two-game slide when it welcomes Evian to the Parc des Sports.
On Saturday, Lille looks to extend its unbeaten streak when it hosts Montpellier, Ajaccio welcomes sixth-place Rennes to the Stade Francois Coty, Nancy hopes to climb out of last place when it faces Bastia at the Stade Armand-Cesari, Bordeaux looks to avoid an upset against lowly Troyes at the Stade Chaban-Delmas and Lorient goes for a fifth straight victory when it faces Reims at the Stade du Moustoir.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.