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Paris Saint-Germain made it three wins on the spin in Ligue 1, as goals from Neymar and Marquinhos helped them to a 2-1 win over Lens on Saturday night.
The hosts had reclaimed the top spot in the standings, but Lille recorded a win over Nice and overtook them again.
The game had a lot of action to offer. A total of 29 shots were recorded in the game, but the precision in the final third was missing from both teams, as only three goals were scored, one from a corner.
Neymar punished Lens' mistake in the first half. PSG snatched possession from the visitors and Julian Draxler set the Brazilian up for his seventh goal of the campaign.
Lens threatened from time to time but had to wait until the 61st minute to break Paris' defense. Ignatius Ganago pulled one back almost instantly after Marquinhos had doubled the hosts' lead from Neymar's perfect delivery.
Though it was not the kind of performance expected from the reigning champions, they earned three crucial points from the game and went to the top of the standings, albeit momentarily.
Here we take a look at the five talking points from the game as Neymar's man-of-the-match performance gave PSG the win.
#5 PSG struggled to create chances from open play
Paris Saint-Germain dominated the proceedings from kick-off as usual but the sharpness in front of the goal was missing. The absence of their top-scorer Kylian Mbappe might have been one of the reasons for it.
They moved the ball easily through midfield but finding a target man in the final third was proving to be difficult for Mauricio Pochettino's men, so much so that neither of their goals came from open play.
The opener was the result of a moment of frailty from the visitors. Facundo Medina mishandled the ball near his own box and Draxler made no mistake in punishing his mistake and threaded a neat pass to Neymar, who kept his cool to score the opener.
The second goal followed a routine corner, which was delivered by Neymar and met wonderfully by his compatriot Marquinhos to double their lead.
While the goals were enough to give them a win here, with the Ligue 1 title race heating up and the Champions League second leg fixture later this week, Paris need to be more lethal in front of the goal and make use of their possession.
#4 Clean sheets starting to become a rarity for Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain haven't kept a clean sheet in their last seven league fixtures. Tonight, they conceded soon after scoring a goal and that indicated a lack of concentration from all the outfield players, not only defenders.
While they conceded just one goal and managed to hold on to their lead, the fact that they have let in at least one goal in their last seven league outings is not a good sign. They had kept seven clean sheets in 11 games between January and March.
Lille, who have the best defensive record in the league, have kept 19 clean sheets and that has helped them maintain a lead over the Parisians despite scoring 21 fewer goals than them.
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#3 Marquinhos becoming an important figure for Paris Saint-Germain at both ends of the pitch
Marquinhos has been an important figure for Paris Saint-Germain for the last couple of seasons. His importance has only grown this season, especially since the departure of Thiago Silva in the summer.
He has been a wall in the defense and has impressed with his man-marking and tackling skills. His header tonight was the second in as many games, with the first being a goal in the Champions League first-leg tie against Manchester City.
His aerial ability came in handy tonight as the hosts struggled to find space in the final third from open play. A goal-scoring defender is always a plus point for any team, so Marquinhos hitting a purple patch currently might be a good thing for PSG.
#2 Neymar produces another man-of-the-match performance for the Paris giants
Neymar scored his first Ligue 1 goal since January. The player has missed almost half of the games this season with injuries, which has limited his contribution in terms of goals.
Tonight, he displayed his big-match potential yet again as he dispatched the opening goal with confidence and later delivered the assist for what would prove to be the decisive goal.
Pochettino knew he had to start the Brazilian superstar to record a win in the absence of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar did not let him down.
Neymar will again have to be at his best when the Paris-based outfit travel to Manchester for their Champions League second-leg tie in midweek.
#1 Ligue 1 set for a nail-biting finish as just one point separates Lille and PSG at the top
The title race in Ligue 1 is the closest it has been for many years. PSG have not stayed at the top of the standings for the majority of the season and even now find themselves a point behind Lille.
Lille are unbeaten in their last five games and even recorded a 1-0 win over PSG in April. With just three games to go in the competition, the two top sides in the league are separated by just a point.
While Paris Saint-Germain have games remaining in the Champions League and French Cup, Lille only have the league fixtures to worry about. Fatigue could be a factor for the Parisians, so Pochettino will have to rotate the squad smartly or risk falling behind in the title race.
