Paris, France – Paris Saint-Germain moved eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1 on Friday after posting a 1-0 win over Montpellier at the Parc des Princes.
The league leaders entered the match riding a four-game home winning streak and made sure they extended their fine form in Paris courtesy of a Kevin Gameiro strike nine minutes from time.
PSG has the first great chance of the match just minutes into the contest when Clement Chantome ran onto a pass on the right side of the Montpellier penalty area, but his right-footed strike was well wide of the far post.
Five minutes before the intermission, the hosts had another great chance when Zlatan Ibrahimovic collected a pass on the left flank on the counter attack, but his shot was straight at Montpellier goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren.
PSG finally broke through in the 81st minute when Jeremy Menez played a nice through ball down the left wing to Ibrahimovic, who then sent a quick square ball into the box for Gameiro to tap home.
The result leaves the defending champions in seventh place with 45 points from 30 matches, four shy of a Europa League place.
Fourth-place St. Etienne highlights Saturday's slate of action as Les Verts host relegation battling Troyes with an opportunity to move into the top three in Ligue 1.
St. Etienne is coming off successive draws in league play, but is riding an impressive 10-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1. Troyes, meanwhile, is scuffling at the bottom of the table with just four wins on the campaign. But the club will go for its second win in three tries after posting a 4-2 win over Reims on March 9.
In a mid-table battle on Saturday, Toulouse travels to the Stade Francois Coty to tangle with Ajaccio searching for its second win in three league matches. Ajaccio will be looking to get back on the winning track after settling for a 0-0 draw with Marseille last time out.
Bordeaux hosts Lorient on Saturday at the Stade Chaban-Delmas hoping to snap a two-game winless run in all competitions. Bordeaux settled for a scoreless stalemate with Toulouse last time out and fell to Benfica in Europa League play three days earlier. Lorient looks to continue its positive momentum against Bordeaux after topping Brest by a 4-0 count on March 16.
Elsewhere in Ligue 1 on Saturday, Evian looks to continue its good run of form against Reims when the club goes for its third straight win in league play, while Rennes hosts Nancy at the Stade de la Route de Lorient and Valenciennes closes out Saturday against Bastia at the Stade du Hainaut.
On Sunday, second-place Lyon will attempt to get back on the winning track against Sochaux after suffering a surprising 4-1 setback against Bastia on March 16.
Also on Sunday, Brest hosts Lille at the Stade Francis-Le Ble looking to put an end to a three-game winless run, while Marseille and Nice meet at the Stade Municipal du Ray in a top-five clash.
Nice can pull even with Marseille on points with a victory, while Marseille can hop into second place with a win and a loss by Lyon.
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