Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Brest: Neymar strikes as champions return to top of Ligue 1
Neymar scored the game's only goal as Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 victory over Brest, although the French champions were indebted to Gianluigi Donnarumma following his stoppage on penalty.
The Brazilian struck home his eighth strike of the campaign after half an hour to settle a rambling affair, keeping the hosts off to an unbeaten start.
However, Christophe Galtier's side survived a scare in the final 20 minutes as Donnarumma fended off Islam Slimani's kick to hold on to their lead.
PSG have now won each of their last 10 league games against Brest, and appear strong favorites for another title after extending their home league unbeaten streak to 25 games.
Brest came under intense pressure in the opening 20 minutes with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi all closing in on the Parisians.
The visitors' difficulties looked set to escalate when Christophe Herelle was shown a red card for a foul on Neymar, but they were pardoned after a VAR check revealed the PSG forward had cleared for offside before the challenge occurs.
The Brazilian international, however, broke the deadlock on the half hour mark, controlling Messi's magnificent ball before shooting past Marco Bizot.
The Brest goalkeeper did well to thwart Messi and Mbappé before the break, while the latter was also denied by the offside flag.
Woodwork then came to the rescue of visitors within five minutes of restarting; Messi heads for the post from Mbappe's cross.
Despite 14 shots on goal, PSG almost paid for their lack of sharpness in the 70th minute when Presnel Kimpembe fouled Noah Fadiga in the box.
However, Donnarumma guessed right to keep Slimani 12 yards out and secure his side's return to the top of Ligue 1.
What does this mean? PSG back at the top after again denying Brest
In addition to returning to the top of Ligue 1, PSG maintained their good record against Brest by winning a disjointed encounter; the Parisians have now beaten Brest 18 times in Ligue 1, the most defeats suffered by the visitors against a single team in the French top flight.
Meanwhile, the leaders have beaten Brest in each of the duo's last 10 league meetings, boasting only the best streak against Angers (12 straight wins) among current Ligue 1 sides.
Neymar fixes it
Neymar, Ligue 1's top scorer this season, made another decisive contribution by finding the net for a fifth consecutive home league game.
Brest were previously the only team the Brazilian international had faced in the French top flight without ever registering a goal.
But he ended that wait in style, controlling Messi's wonderful pass with a touch of the pen before brilliantly sending home what turned out to be the winning goal.
Messi inspires hosts
He may not have scored, but Messi played a key role in PSG's return to the top of the table.
His delightful assist for Neymar was one of the former Barcelona man's four assists, while no player has managed more shots on goal (four, with Mbappe).
What's next?
PSG will travel to Israel on Wednesday to face Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League, while Brest will return to Ligue 1 at home against Ajaccio next Sunday.
Neymar scored the game's only goal as Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 victory over Brest, although the French champions were indebted to Gianluigi Donnarumma following his stoppage on penalty.
The Brazilian struck home his eighth strike of the campaign after half an hour to settle a rambling affair, keeping the hosts off to an unbeaten start.
However, Christophe Galtier's side survived a scare in the final 20 minutes as Donnarumma fended off Islam Slimani's kick to hold on to their lead.
PSG have now won each of their last 10 league games against Brest, and appear strong favorites for another title after extending their home league unbeaten streak to 25 games.
Brest came under intense pressure in the opening 20 minutes with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi all closing in on the Parisians.
The visitors' difficulties looked set to escalate when Christophe Herelle was shown a red card for a foul on Neymar, but they were pardoned after a VAR check revealed the PSG forward had cleared for offside before the challenge occurs.
The Brazilian international, however, broke the deadlock on the half hour mark, controlling Messi's magnificent ball before shooting past Marco Bizot.
The Brest goalkeeper did well to thwart Messi and Mbappé before the break, while the latter was also denied by the offside flag.
Woodwork then came to the rescue of visitors within five minutes of restarting; Messi heads for the post from Mbappe's cross.
Despite 14 shots on goal, PSG almost paid for their lack of sharpness in the 70th minute when Presnel Kimpembe fouled Noah Fadiga in the box.
However, Donnarumma guessed right to keep Slimani 12 yards out and secure his side's return to the top of Ligue 1.
What does this mean? PSG back at the top after again denying Brest
In addition to returning to the top of Ligue 1, PSG maintained their good record against Brest by winning a disjointed encounter; the Parisians have now beaten Brest 18 times in Ligue 1, the most defeats suffered by the visitors against a single team in the French top flight.
Meanwhile, the leaders have beaten Brest in each of the duo's last 10 league meetings, boasting only the best streak against Angers (12 straight wins) among current Ligue 1 sides.
Neymar fixes it
Neymar, Ligue 1's top scorer this season, made another decisive contribution by finding the net for a fifth consecutive home league game.
Brest were previously the only team the Brazilian international had faced in the French top flight without ever registering a goal.
But he ended that wait in style, controlling Messi's wonderful pass with a touch of the pen before brilliantly sending home what turned out to be the winning goal.
Messi inspires hosts
He may not have scored, but Messi played a key role in PSG's return to the top of the table.
His delightful assist for Neymar was one of the former Barcelona man's four assists, while no player has managed more shots on goal (four, with Mbappe).
What's next?
PSG will travel to Israel on Wednesday to face Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League, while Brest will return to Ligue 1 at home against Ajaccio next Sunday.
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