Paris Saint-Germain defeated Saint-Etienne 2-1 on Sunday, thanks to two goals from Ousmane Dembele in the first half. The victory puts Paris seven points ahead of Saint-Etienne at the top of the Ligue 1 standings halfway through the season. As PSG appeared to overwhelm its faltering opponent, Dembele opened the scoring with an individual effort on 13 minutes and then scored a penalty halfway through the first half.

But a Saint-Etienne team in the relegation play-off spot stopped the momentum and equalised in the 64th minute with a free kick from Zuriko Davitashvili. PSG, who defeated Monaco in Doha last weekend to win the French Champions Trophy, managed to hang on and has won 13 of its 17 domestic league games so far this season.