Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco warmed up for next week's challenges in the Champions League on Friday night with a domestic battle in Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes.
PSG emerged with the spoils. Their 4-1 victory took them 16 points clear of third-placed Monaco and 13 ahead of Marseille who will attempt to consolidate second place when they play on Sunday night at Angers.
Monaco endured a terrible two minutes early in the opening exchanges. First, Takumi Minamino shot straight at the PSG goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma with the whole goal at his mercy and then, within seconds of the glaring miss, Donnarumma's opposite number, Radoslaw Majecki, allowed Vitinha's free-kick to squeeze into the net at his near post.
But in the 17th minute, Donnarumma was equally negligent. Monaco skipper Denis Zakaria surged into the penalty area and shaped to pass the ball across the box but instead fired in at the near post.
And it was a case of déjà vu for Monaco just after the pause.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who signed from Napoli last month, scored his first goal to give PSG a 2-1 lead in the 54th minute. And three minutes later, Ousmane Dembélé added the third. The 27-year-old France international bagged his brace in stoppage time to complete the rout and notch up his 10th goal in five matches.
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