PARIS: Paris St Germain closed in on a record-extending 12th Ligue 1 title as Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe each scored twice in a 4-1 away victory against second-from-bottom Lorient on Wednesday.

Luis Enrique’s team would have sealed the title later on Wednesday if second-placed AS Monaco had failed to beat Lille at home, but the principality side prevailed 1-0 courtesy of Youssouf Fofana’s second-half strike.

PSG are on 69 points with four games left with Monaco trailing by 11 points.

PSG were without the in-form Bradley Barcola, Marquinhos, Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery who were rested a week before the team’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund.

“We did our job. We were serious and we got all three points, despite making numerous changes,” Enrique said.

“As long as the school year is not finished we cannot get our final grade,” he added when asked about the prospect of clinching the title.

“What is happening is exciting. We are close, but we still have a month of the season to go, with other things to accomplish.

“There are seven or eight matches left, and to get to the eighth we will need to remain fully focused,” added the Spaniard in reference to the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1.

The capital side went ahead on 19 minutes as Dembele beat two defenders before slotting the ball past Yvon Mvogo from just inside the box.

Three minutes later, Mbappe connected with a Nuno Mendes cross to double the advantage.

Dembele then put the result beyond doubt on the hour mark when he tapped in from Mbappe’s cross.

Mohamed Bamba reduced the arrears in the 73rd minute, but it was too little, too late for a team with 26 points from 30 games.

Mbappe added another one in the last minute with a right-footed effort to take his season tally in the top flight to 26.

Later on Wednesday, Monaco cemented second place thanks to Fofana’s 20-metre strike in the 61st minute, which ended Lille’s three-game winning streak.

Lille are fourth on 52 points, one behind third-placed Stade Brestois and six behind Monaco.

Elsewhere, Olympique de Marseille’s European hopes suffered a blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by fifth-placed OGC Nice, who are on 48 points.

Terem Moffi gave Nice the lead, but Jonathan Clauss levelled for Marseille who then had Faris Moumbagna sent off at the end of the first half.

Pierre-Emerick Aubame­yang then put 10-man Marseille ahead from a penalty for his 26th goal of the season in all competitions.

However, Melvin Bard equalised for Nice, and Marseille are a point adrift of seventh, which could yet be enough to qualify for Europe depending on the outcome of the French Cup final between Olympique Lyonnais and PSG on 26th May.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024