Paris Saint-Germain returned to the summit of Ligue 1 with a laboured yet effective 3-0 victory over spirited Le Havre at the Parc des Princes.
Lee Kang-in, João Neves and Bradley Barcola were the scorers on the night, but it was goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier who ensured PSG stayed in control, especially during a shaky first half.
Chevalier produced a superb early save after Issa Soumaré’s dangerous cross caused panic in the home defence, and PSG made the most of that escape by scoring on the half-hour.
Lee’s low effort crept in at the far post, with Le Havre keeper Mory Diaw culpable for failing to keep it out.
Le Havre, unbeaten in their previous four matches, responded with confidence. Yassine Kechta forced another sharp save from Chevalier, while Ayumu Seko rattled the crossbar as the visitors pushed for an equaliser.
Chevalier remained PSG’s most reliable performer, tipping away a Yanis Zouaoui free-kick early in the second half.
The champions finally eased the pressure in the 65th minute when Barcola saw two attempts blocked before Neves smashed in the rebound to make it 2-0.
Soumaré continued to trouble PSG and was unlucky to see his late strike bounce off the woodwork.
But Barcola wrapped up the result three minutes from time, racing onto Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s pass and coolly finishing past Diaw for PSG’s third.
The display won’t do much to silence concerns over recent form, especially with a rotated squad showing signs of rust after the international break.
However, the victory pushes PSG two points clear of Marseille and Lens, with key players set to return ahead of Wednesday’s pivotal Champions League clash against Tottenham.
