Ligue 1 title favourites Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of the table after overwhelming third-bottom Ajaccio 4-1 at a rain-soaked Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Montpellier had conceded the initiative in the title race after being held to a draw at Dijon on Saturday and PSG took full advantage by beating Ajaccio through goals from Javier Pastore, Jeremy Menez, Guillaume Hoarau and Nene.
Having rescued a thrilling 4-4 draw at Lyon last weekend, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have now gone 15 games unbeaten and are a point clear of Montpellier with 12 games of the season remaining.
“We played some really nice football and we had lots of chances to score,” said Ancelotti.
“The only negative thing about the match is that we lost our way at the start of each half.
“We’re back on top of Ligue 1. It’s a great day for us, as Montpellier and Lille didn’t win. Our position can give us confidence. There was lots of pressure before the match and we reacted well.”
Ajaccio almost took an early lead in fortuitous fashion when Samuel Bohours’ cross was deflected onto the crossbar by Christophe Jallet, but a pair of quick-fire goals mid-way through the first half gave PSG control of the game.
Nene hit the post with a 25-yard curler and Hoarau stung the palms of Ajaccio goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa before Pastore broke the deadlock in the 27th minute, driving the ball past Ochoa following a neat one-two with Blaise Matuidi.
PSG doubled their lead less than two minutes later and this time Pastore was the provider, spreading the ball to his left for Menez, who stepped inside his man and curled a fine shot into the top-right corner.
After spurning a handful of chances to extend their lead, PSG saw Ajaccio pull a goal back shortly before the interval when Yoann Poulard lashed a loose ball home after the hosts failed to clear a free-kick.
With Ancelotti peering through the rain on the touchline, PSG struggled to kill the game off in the second half, with Nene rattling the crossbar from a free-kick and both Nene and Hoarau drawing saves from Ochoa.
Hoarau finally made the game safe in the 86th minute, cantering onto Nene’s through-ball and rolling the ball past Ochoa, before Nene touched home Clement Chantome’s volleyed cross from close range to claim a deserved goal in stoppage time.
Sunday’s other afternoon game saw Caen draw 0-0 at home to Brest, who had Jonathan Zebina sent off for slapping Livio Nabab in injury time.
In the day’s late match, Rennes won 2-0 at Lorient in the Brittany derby to climb to fourth place, above Saint-Etienne and Toulouse on goal difference and four points below Lille.
None of the major contenders for Champions League qualification managed to win on Saturday, with third-placed Lille notably letting slip a two-goal lead in the last 10 minutes to draw 2-2 at home to second-bottom Auxerre.