Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Nantes: Kvaratskhelia bags brace as PSG thump Nantes to extend lead at summit of Ligue 1

Kvaratskhelia celebrates against Nantes

Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways by easing to a 3-0 victory over Nantes to move four points clear of RC Lens at the top of the Ligue 1 table, leaving Les Canaris with just one win from their last 13 league games (D3, L9).

Following their loss at home to Olympique Lyonnais at the weekend, PSG found themselves in a title race once more, although they had the opportunity to open up the gap over their closest rivals here.

Les Parisiens got off to the perfect start, too, winning a penalty a quarter of an hour in when0Ali Youssef was penalised for handling in the box after Marquinhos’ header hit his arm.

Following a VAR review, the spot-kick was awarded, with0Khvicha Kvaratskhelia burying into the bottom corner.

Nantes’ misery continued as, after thinking they had drawn level midway through the first half when Louis Leroux pounced on a loose ball in the box and fired in, the goal was disallowed for an apparent foul in the build-up.

A disappointing first half for the away side ended with them going two goals down as0Achraf Hakimi broke forward and played in D9sir9 Dou9, who, despite the tight angle, sent a stunning strike into the far top corner.

The hosts flew out of the blocks after the restart and were soon three goals to the good when Kvaratskhelia danced his way into the box and slotted home.

Luis Enrique’s men were now flying, and Hakimi went close to adding a fourth as he sent a shot narrowly wide from distance before Kvaratskhelia was denied a hat-trick by the bar.

Fabi1n Ruiz was next to try his luck, but he was also thwarted by the woodwork as his deflected shot cannoned off the post.

In the end, three was more than enough for PSG to claim a resounding victory and put themselves in the driving seat once more for a record-extending 14th Ligue 1 title.

Match stats

Nantes, meanwhile, are five points adrift of the relegation play-off spot with time running out for Vahid Halilhodžić’s men, as they look destined to drop to the second tier of French football for the first time in 13 years.

See a summary of the match here