MONACO -- Paris Saint-Germain pulled nine points clear at the top of Ligue 1 with a 2-1 win away at close rivals AS Monaco with Edinson Cavani and Neymar (a penalty) scoring in each half before Kylian Mbappe deflected a late Joao Moutinho free kick in to set up a tense finale at Stade Louis II on Sunday.
Positives
At the end of the day, the result was the most important thing and PSG merited their victory. It only finished 2-1 -- when it could easily have been three, four or five -- but that result might well have ended the race for this season's Championnat title, at least as far as Monaco are concerned.
The French capital outfit were convincing and deserved their win. However, considering Mbappe's numerous chances, as well as Julian Draxler's and Cavani's misses over the course of the 90 minutes in the principality, it should not have been as close as it was.
Les Monegasques were lucky with their late goal, through Moutinho's deflected free kick and 2-0 would have been a more accurate reflection of the encounter. PSG avoided succumbing to late nerves once the deficit was halved, though, and rode out a feisty final few minutes.
Negatives
The emotion of a return to Monaco to face his formative club appeared to get to Mbappe because his finishing was poor all night. The France international was presented with three very good opportunities and he spurned them all, notably one near open goal inside the opening few minutes. However, the 18-year-old sensation was not alone in his finishing being off as Cavani and Draxler both wasted good chances.
Moutinho's consolation strike for Leonardo Jardim's home side flattered them and was harsh on Mbappe, who did not deserve to have salt rubbed in his wounds from a humiliating return to his old stomping ground, as well as goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who could do nothing to keep it out it once it struck his teammate.
Otherwise, there can be few real negatives taken from such an important away victory, even if PSG need to kill games like that off in the future.
Manager rating out of 10
8 -- Unai Emery stuck with the same squad and same starting XI that beat Celtic in the Champions League in midweek and was rewarded with a valuable, three-point haul that may well have extinguished the possibility of a Ligue 1 title race.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Alphonse Areola, 6 -- There was nothing that the youth academy graduate could do after Moutinho's free kick was deflected by Mbappe. Otherwise, the French shot stopper was solid.
DF Dani Alves, 6 -- The Brazil international got forward well and was solid at the back when needed, but he picked up a late booking as tempers flared.
DF Marquinhos, 6 -- The Brazilian was solid enough alongside captain Thiago Silva, but could not quite match his compatriot's commanding presence on the night.
DF Thiago Silva, 7 -- The skipper was in control of his defence from the first minute until the last and the only way that Monaco looked like they were going to score was through a slice of luck. They got that, but it was not enough and it should not detract from a solid overall effort from the backline marshalled by the Brazil international.
DF Layvin Kurzawa, 5 -- The France international was once again PSG's weak link as Jardim targeted the former Monegasque -- although not to the same degree as last season. It was no surprise when Emery opted to replace Kurzawa with Yuri Berchiche after 68 minutes.
MF Adrien Rabiot, 8 -- The Frenchman posted another mature performance despite being deployed in his unflavoured deep-lying midfield role. He was key in Cavani's opener as he held the ball up for the right amount of time before feeding Draxler, who located Cavani for the finish.
MF Marco Verratti, 7 -- The Italy international was part of a well-oiled midfield unit and combined well with Rabiot and Draxler to create a more dynamic trio than Monaco's.
MF Julian Draxler, 7 -- The German can be very happy with his showing in Monaco. Although he could and probably should have scored in the first half, he teed Cavani up at one end and got back to dispossess Radamel Falcao at the other.
FW Kylian Mbappe, 4 -- The France international blew his big chance to impress on his return to Monaco. Perhaps guilty of trying too hard to be the star man on the night, the 18-year-old missed three good chances and was of better use to PSG when utilising his searing pace out wide and crossing in.
FW Edinson Cavani, 7 -- The passionate Uruguayan again showed his big-match appetite with an opportunist finish in the first half. However, although he set up both Mbappe and Neymar with chances and saw a cross of his own turned onto the post by Jemerson, he also missed a very good second-half opportunity.
FW Neymar, 7 -- The Brazilian superstar was a bit sluggish in the first half and only showed a few flashes of brilliance before getting booked -- which means he will now be suspended against Lille OSC next month. The South American was much better in the second, though, and scored the penalty he won, hit the post and twisted and turned his opponents inside out once or twice.
Substitutes
DF Yuri Berchiche, 5 -- The Spaniard came on and added greater solidity than Kurzawa, but was booked for a rough tackle late on, which could easily have been red.
FW Angel Di Maria, NR -- The Argentina international sulked during the pre-match warm-up and tried to steal PSG a late third goal once he was introduced for the final nine minutes, but was unable to.
MF Javier Pastore, NR -- The Argentinian replaced Draxler after 81 minutes and showed good aggression and creativity, but needed longer on the pitch to make it count.