Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lille v Paris St Germain - Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 1, 2024 Paris St Germain's Ousmane Dembele in action with Lille's Alexsandro REUTERS/Johanna Geron
(Reuters) -First-half strikes from Vitinha and Bradley Barcola and a late Randal Kolo Muani goal earned Paris St Germain a 3-1 win at Lille on Sunday to maintain their perfect start to the Ligue 1 season.
Vitinha opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute following a foul by Lille's Alexsandro Ribeiro on Ousmane Dembele.
Barcola doubled the lead just three minutes later, striking at the far post after a counter attack to continue his fine form with his fourth goal of the season.
Lille improved after the break and Edon Zhegrova pulled one back with a long-range effort 12 minutes from time before Tiago Santos thought he had equalised, his goal disallowed for offside.
The hosts kept pushing for a late equaliser but Kolo Muani sealed the win for the reigning champions with a towering header in added time.
PSG reached nine points to lead the standings with an early two-point gap over Marseille, second on goal difference level on points with Nantes, AS Monaco and Lens.
"It was a very important game for us against a team who play at the top of the table," PSG captain Marquinhos told DAZN.
"They really push the team here. At 2-0 up they kept pushing forward, they never gave up. It was a good test for us because it was between two teams who are playing in Europe.
"Points like that make all the difference at the end of a league campaign," the defender added.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios; editing by Mark Porter and Diane Craft)
