Dembele brace sends PSG top of Ligue 1
A brilliant brace from Ousmane Dembele saw Paris Saint-Germain defeat Lille 3-0 and go top of Ligue 1, the perfect response to its shock exit from the Coupe de France at the hands of Paris FC last week.
The 2025 Ballon d'Or winner opened the scoring with a clinical finish from the edge of the box before doubling his tally at Parc des Princes with an audacious lob over Berke Ozer, while Bradley Barcola sealed the win in second-half stoppage-time.
Lille went agonisingly close to taking the lead in Paris through Olivier Giroud in the second minute. The ball fell kindly for the striker in the box and he looked to lift it over Lucas Chevalier, but his attempt struck the crossbar before the goalkeeper smothered Ethan Mbappe's rebound.
That was a wake-up call for PSG, which scored with its first shot of the match in the 13th minute. Fabian Ruiz regained possession in a dangerous position and Vitinha managed to find Dembele, whose strike from distance went in off the left post.
Luis Enrique's side was in the ascendancy, but both Nuno Mendes and Desire Doue failed to find the back of the net with attempts either side of half-time, while Lille struggled to create chances.
Dembele ensured a calmer finish for the hosts with a moment of magic shortly after the hour mark. Doue picked the forward out in the box, and he sent three defenders the wrong way before scooping the ball over Ozer and just underneath the crossbar.
Barcola then pounced on an unaware Aissa Mandi in the 93rd minute, dispossessing the defender in the box before slotting the ball into the bottom corner to secure all three points for the Parisien side.
































