Di Maria brace lifts unbeaten PSG past Caen
PARIS - French league leader Paris Saint-Germain beat Caen 3-0 to remain unbeaten at the halfway point on Saturday.
Angel di Maria, who scored twice, underlined the good start to his PSG career since joining from Manchester United in the offseason. He has nine goals in all competitions with a further 10 assists.
His first goal was a crisp finish after Caen failed to clear a cross from right back Serge Aurier. He added his second five minutes after the break, clipping the ball neatly over goalkeeper Remi Vercoutre from close range.
In between, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a spectacular league-leading 15th goal with a powerful shot from just outside the penalty area.
Troyes 0, Monaco 0
Monaco endured a frustrating night at Stade de l'Aube as 10-man Troyes produced a gutsy performance to claim a hard-earned point.
The visitors, knocked out of the Coupe de la Ligue this week by Bordeaux, missed an early penalty but basement club Troyes deservedly held on as the game finished goalless. Monaco should have taken the lead when Mouhamadou Dabo barged into the back of Helder Costa in just the third minute.
The referee had no option but to award a penalty and show a red card to the Troyes defender, but Lacina Traore's tame effort was easily saved by Paul Bernardoni. Monaco dominated possession and Bernardoni had to be alert to keep out Fabinho's effort low down at his near post in the 24th minute.
Traore missed another great chance from close range following more good work from Fabinho, who was a real threat in the first half, and was unable to hit the target with a header early in the second period. Thomas Lemar went close with a deflected effort and Helder Costa volleyed over from inside the area.
But Troyes, bottom of Ligue 1 without a win this season, began to grow in confidence and offer a threat on the counter-attack, with Lossemy Karaboue and Matthieu Saunier testing the Monaco defence in the latter stages. The result has moved Monaco up to second in the table, a point above Angers.
Lorient 0, Nantes 0
Lorient and Nantes played out a goalless draw in their Ligue 1 encounter at the Stade du Moustoir on Saturday night.
Neither side are likely to be happy with a point from a largely tepid affair.
The stalemate means Lorient remain in seventh but with Marseille, Lyon and St Etienne all to play on Sunday, they could find themselves in 10th heading into the winter break.
Nantes, who have now scored only two goals in their last six matches remain in 12th in Ligue 1, but are just five points ahead of the relegation places.
Toulouse 1, Lille 1
Sofiane Boufal struck a late equalizer as Lille stole a point from a 1-1 Ligue 1 draw with 10-man Toulouse at Stadium Municipal.
Wissam Ben Yedder got the hosts off to a flying start as he slotted William Matheus' cross into the top corner from close range to open the scoring after 11 minutes with his eighth goal of the season.
Yassine Benzia fired wide and Eric Bautheac headed over as Lille attempted to find an equaliser, while second-half efforts from Tongo Doumbia and Martin Braithwaite to double the lead for Toulouse were denied.
Guingamp 0, Rennes 2
Rennes ended a five-match Ligue 1 winless streak with a 2-0 victory at Guingamp on Saturday night.
Ousmane Dembele scored the opening goal of the game shortly after the hour mark with a cool finish after he was played through by Giovanni Sio.
And Dembele soon turned the provider for Sio, who doubled the away side's advantage with 13 minutes left.
The victory takes Rennes up to sixth in the Ligue 1 standings with Guingamp - who have recorded just one victory in their last 11 league outings - remaining in 18th.
The home side lost Tongo Doumbia to a second yellow card for a bad foul midway through the second half and Lille capitalised on their advantage as Sebastien Corchia set up Boufal to fire in a late equalizer.
Bastia 2, Reims 0
Floyd Ayite netted the opener against his old club as Bastia returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Reims in Ligue 1 at Stade Armand Cesari.
Francois Modesto headed wide and Ayite, who joined the Blues after three years at Reims in 2014, sent two shots just off target in the opening stages as the hosts pressed.
Their efforts paid off after 21 minutes as Ayite broke the deadlock against his former club, picking up Seko Fofana's cross on a break and slotting into the bottom corner for his third goal of the season.
Reims fought back with a couple of chances to equalise but Jordan Siebatcheu headed past the left upright and Diego fired his long-range free-kick into the stands before Julien Romain doubled the home side's lead, sending Brandao's header home with 10 minutes remaining.