Paris Saint-Germain moved to the top of Ligue 1 with a crushing 4-1 win over Lens at Parc des Princes this afternoon.
Goals from David Luiz, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Blaise Matuidi and Javier Pastore sent them to the summit ahead of Lyon's trip to Montpellier HSC tomorrow.
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Laurent Blanc's men came roaring out of the blocks, creating a series of early chances that could have had them several goals clear before the game was even 20 minutes old.
Luiz headed narrowly over the top within the opening 60 seconds before Jean-Christophe Bahebeck pushed Ezequiel Lavezzi's pass narrowly wide.
Ibrahimovic then attempted an audacious chip when a simpler finish might have sufficed, with Rudy Riou gratefully grasping the Swedish striker's dinked effort to his chest.
It was Ibrahimovic who led the appeals for a PSG penalty just after the half-hour mark, but referee Wilfried Bien dismissed the claims.
Lens looked set to go in level at the break against the run of play, but Luiz stepped up to hammer home a free kick with just seconds of the opening period remaining.
After beginning the game at such a blistering pace, Blanc's side started the second half sluggishly, with Maxwell's last-ditch interception foiling a dangerous Lens attack just after the restart.
It was when Lens were clawing their way back into the game that Baptiste Guillaume then sent Gregory van der Wiel tumbling in the box, gifting the home side a chance to double their lead.
In characteristic style, Ibrahimovic stepped up and buried the penalty, seemingly ending the contest.
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However, Lens rallied and pulled a goul back when Yoann Touzghar beat Luiz to Ludovic Baal's cross and sent his effort beyond Salvatore Sirigu.
Substitute Edinson Cavani spurned a wonderful opportunity to put the game to bed when he fired tamely at Riou with only the Lens goalkeeper to beat.
Thankfully for the Uruguayan striker, Matuidi spared his blushes when he slid in to knock home a cross from the right.
Pastore then completed the rout when he fired home a first-time volley from Ibrahimovic's pass to finish off a devastating PSG counter-attack.
Joe Sharratt
