PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain stayed on course to complete the Ligue 1 season without losing a game as the Champions League semifinalists beat struggling Le Havre 2-1 on Saturday.
Desire Doue and Goncalo Ramos scored the goals for PSG either side of half-time at the Parc des Princes, as coach Luis Enrique changed almost his entire starting line-up following the midweek European clash with Aston Villa.
PSG had already secured a fourth successive Ligue 1 title before this game, and their 10th consecutive league win leaves them on 77 points with five matches remaining.
No side has ever completed an entire French top-flight campaign unbeaten.
“We knew this game was a potential banana skin for us after a Champions League match which sucked out all our energy and left us feeling tired,” Luis Enrique said.
“All the ingredients were there for this to be a difficult game against a side who were in need of points.”
Achraf Hakimi and Bradley Barcola were the only players to keep their place in the PSG line-up at kick-off, following the 3-2 defeat away to Aston Villa which saw them edge through to the last four of the Champions League and a tie against Arsenal.
Doue gave PSG the lead inside eight minutes, and Ramos made the most of his chance in the starting line-up by making it 2-0 shortly after half-time with his 15th goal this season.
Issa Soumare pulled one back for Le Havre, but the result leaves the Normandy side still in third-bottom spot, the relegation play-off place.
If the title race in France is already over, the fight for European qualification behind PSG is intense, with the next six teams separated by only six points.
Second-placed Monaco drew 0-0 at home to Strasbourg, who are three points behind them in fifth, on a blustery evening in the principality.
Monaco were looking for a seventh successive home win in Ligue 1, but leading scorer Mika Biereth had a goal disallowed for a tight offside call in first-half stoppage time.
They had most of the chances, but Strasbourg had the ball in the net late on too, only for Emanuel Emegha’s effort from close range to also be ruled out for offside.
Liam Rosenior’s Strasbourg are now unbeaten in 10 games and remain hopeful of qualifying for the Champions League — a level the Alsace outfit have not played at since the 1979/80 European Cup.
“I have a group of players who believe they can do it, and I believe they can do it as well,” said Englishman Rosenior, whose side are undefeated since early February.
“Nobody said that this team would be able to do this at the start of the season.
“Ten games unbeaten, and the players are disappointed not to win against Nice (a 2-2 draw last week) and now Monaco, which shows how far we have come in a short space of time.”
Marseille have the chance to move back above Monaco into second with a win at home to doomed bottom side Montpellier later.
Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille are under pressure on a run of five defeats in their last seven matches, a sequence which has left them at risk of missing out on a return to the Champions League.
Lyon, in fourth, go to derby rivals Saint-Etienne on Sunday looking to bounce back from their agonizing Europa League loss to Manchester United on Thursday.
Lille and Nice, who are now sixth and seventh respectively, also play key games in the fight for Europe on Sunday.
The top three qualify automatically for the Champions League, with fourth going into the preliminary rounds.
Fifth place qualifies for the Europa League and sixth for the Conference League, although there will be an extra Europa League place available via the league should PSG beat Reims in the French Cup final next month.