PARIS: Angel Di Maria delivered a near-perfect performance, scoring two and setting up another as runaway Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain beat 10-man Olympique de Marseille 3-1 at home on Sunday.

The Argentine forward tormented the visitors’ defence throughout at the Parc des Princes, adding to Kylian Mbappe’s opener to put PSG on 77 points from 28 games for a 20-point lead over second-placed Lille.

PSG’s bitter rivals Marseille, who equalised through Valere Germain seconds into the second half, are fourth on 47 points from 29 matches.

OM keeper Steve Mandanda was sent off after 62 minutes for handling outside the area.

Still shocked by their team’s elimination in the last 16 of the Champions League for a third straight season, PSG’s “Ultra” fans deserted their stand in protest during warmup after deploying a banner that read: “We don’t forget.” PSG was handed a surprising 3-1 home loss to Manchester United on March 6, becoming the first team to be eliminated from the competition after winning the away leg 2-0.

“We should not ask for forgiveness, it was an accident,” PSG coach Thomas Tuchel said. “We deserved the win today ... our team proved it is capable of bouncing back with a champion mentality. We have an extraordinary spirit.”

Mbappe put PSG in front on the stroke of half-time with his 26th league goal of the season, but Germain equalised.

Di Maria restored the home team’s advantage, though, and Mandanda was sent off for a clear handball 30 yards from goal. Di Maria’s wonderful free-kick added further gloss to the scoreline, although Mbappe saw a late penalty saved by visiting substitute Yohann Pele.

Earlier on Sunday, third-placed Olympique Lyonnais claimed a 3-2 home win against Montpellier to move within four points of Lille and six clear of Marseille.

Bruno Genesio’s men, who were thrashed 5-1 by Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 in midweek, saw off their fellow European hopefuls with goals from Martin Terrier, Moussa Dembele and Houssem Aouar.

A late equaliser from Senegal forward M’Baye Niang secured a 1-1 draw for Stade Rennes at Girondins Bordeaux, denying coach Paulo Sousa a win on his debut. Also, sixth-placed Reims defeated Nantes 1-0 with Remi Oudin’s second-half goal.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2019