Ligue 1 wrap: Beckham debuts in PSG win

Paris Saint-Germain have continued Marseille’s poor record in the French capital with a 2-0 win to keep their three-point lead in Ligue 1.

Paris Saint-Germain have continued Marseille’s poor record in the French capital with a 2-0 win to keep their three-point lead in Ligue 1.

Marseille defender Nicolas N’Koulou put PSG in front when he deflected Lucas Moura’s strike into his own goal in the 11th minute and Zlatan Ibrahimovic completed the capital club’s victory when he knocked the ball in with his knee in second-half stoppage time.

The win on Sunday maintains PSG’s four-point margin over Lyon at the top of the standings, while it extends Marseille’s winless run in Paris to three games.

PSG started well in Le Classique with Ezequiel Lavezzi hitting the post but the home fans did not have to wait long for the opening goal as Moura skipped past one opponent before sending his shot into the net thanks to N’Koulou’s deflection.

Marseille came back into the game after half-time with Andre-Pierre Gignac testing PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu with a bicycle kick in the 61st minute.

Andre Ayew forced Sirigu into another acrobatic save with a looping header soon after.

David Beckham made his debut for PSG when he came off the bench in the 76th minute, receiving a huge round of applause, but it was Ibrahimovic that made the difference on the scoresheet, scoring his 22nd goal of the season to wrap up the 2-0 victory.

In the 91st minute, Jeremy Menez did well to get inside the area and turned the ball towards goal, where it struck Ibrahimovic and bounced into the net, more by luck than the Swedish striker’s design.

Lyon also won on Sunday to keep the pressure on PSG, coming from behind to knock off Lorient 3-1.

Lorient’s Jeremie Aliadiere headed home the opening goal of the game in the 11th minute but Lyon were level after 23 minutes when Lisandro Lopez finished well on the turn.

The visitors hit the bar before half-time but five minutes after the break, Rachid Ghezzal put Lyon in front when he tapped home after Fabien Audard saved Lopez’s header.

With snow falling, Lyon finished Lorient off in second-half stoppage time when Arnold Mvuemba scored from Yassine Benzia’s assist.

In the other clash, Brest shocked Bordeaux 2-0 at home.