Ligue 1: Messi scores as PSG opens two-point gap

Lionel Messi scored for Paris Saint-Germain as they beat Lyon 1-0 to open a two-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 on Sunday.

It was his fourth goal of the season.

Messi found the back of the net in the fifth minute to put Christophe Galtier’s side on 22 points from eight games.

Marseille are second after being held to a 1-1 home draw by Stade Rennais earlier on Sunday.

Lyon, who have now lost their last three matches, are sixth on 13 points.

PSG have won nine and drawn one of their 10 games in all competitions and while they have shown less brilliance lately, they were still a cut above at the Groupama Stadium.

The performance, however, was not enough for PSG midfielder Vitinha, who believed they should have put the match to bed.

“I’m satisfied with the result but not with the performance. We could have played better. There’s a lot of room for improvement,” the Portuguese said. “We should have controlled the match better in the second half and we should have had more chances with the possession we had.”