PARIS: Paris St Germain forward Neymar scored his eighth Ligue 1 goal of the season as the champions beat Brest 1-0 at Parc des Princes on Saturday to extend their unbeaten start and reclaim top spot in the standings.
The result, secured after Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a late Islam Slimani penalty, means Christophe Galtier’s side have 19 points from seven games, two more than second-placed RC Lens who led the table after a 1-0 win over Troyes on Friday.
Olympique de Marseille can go level on points with PSG if they beat visitors Lille later on Saturday.
Brest came into the contest having conceded a club record 16 goals in their first six games and were carved open in the 30th minute despite a bright start as Neymar fired in from a tight angle after being played through by Lionel Messi.
The visitors were lucky not to be reduced to 10 men minutes earlier as Christophe Herelle was shown a red card for scything down Neymar but a review prompted the referee to reverse his decision as the PSG forward was offside before the tackle.
PSG turned the screw on their opponents and both Messi and Kylian Mbappe squandered clear-cut chances either side of halftime before 17th-placed Brest were awarded a spot kick but Slimani’s tame 70th minute effort was kept out by Donnarumma.
The Italian goalkeeper was then called into action again and kept his team ahead with a diving save after the ball appeared to be going in at the near post off Slimani’s shoulder following a whipped cross from the left.
The result, secured after Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a late Islam Slimani penalty, means Christophe Galtier’s side have 19 points from seven games, two more than second-placed RC Lens who led the table after a 1-0 win over Troyes on Friday.
Olympique de Marseille can go level on points with PSG if they beat visitors Lille later on Saturday.
Brest came into the contest having conceded a club record 16 goals in their first six games and were carved open in the 30th minute despite a bright start as Neymar fired in from a tight angle after being played through by Lionel Messi.
The visitors were lucky not to be reduced to 10 men minutes earlier as Christophe Herelle was shown a red card for scything down Neymar but a review prompted the referee to reverse his decision as the PSG forward was offside before the tackle.
PSG turned the screw on their opponents and both Messi and Kylian Mbappe squandered clear-cut chances either side of halftime before 17th-placed Brest were awarded a spot kick but Slimani’s tame 70th minute effort was kept out by Donnarumma.
The Italian goalkeeper was then called into action again and kept his team ahead with a diving save after the ball appeared to be going in at the near post off Slimani’s shoulder following a whipped cross from the left.