Paris Saint-Germain are beginning to pick up form in Ligue 1 after Saturday's 3-0 win over Girondins de Bordeaux at the Parc des Princes gave them their third consecutive victory in all competitions.
Both sides finished with 10 men -- with Gregory van der Wiel seeing red for the French champions and Andre Biyogo Poko dismissed for Bordeaux -- but a pair of Lucas Moura penalties and a goal from substitute Ezequiel Lavezzi secured three deserved points for the capital club.
The win moves PSG to within four points of le Championnat leaders and bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille, for at least 24 hours, with Marcelo Bielsa's men on the road at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday. Following their 1-0 UEFA Champions League win over APOEL FC in midweek, it appears they are finally starting to gather momentum after a slow start to the season.
Lucas was the star performer on the day for the hosts. He scored twice and put in an excellent 66-minute performance before making way for Lavezzi. The Brazilian's two penalties might have been straightforward enough -- though Bordeaux's Cedric Carrasso did come close to stopping the second one -- but the PSG No. 7 was impressive without scoring from the spot.
Very early on, it was clear Lucas was going to get plenty of joy down the visitors' left side, and the 22-year-old made a number of penetrating runs and stretched a back line featuring debutant Cedric Yambere. The Bordeaux newcomer handed Moura one of his two penalties by fouling Marco Verratti late in the first half before deflecting in Lavezzi's effort for PSG's third.
You got the feeling something would come from Lucas' enterprising play, and on a day when les Parisiens were shorn of star strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani, the Selecao man's efforts were enough to compensate for their absence. It was the perfect way to celebrate his return to the Brazilian national team for next month's friendlies against Turkey and Austria. With that pair of goals, Moura moves to five for the season and equals his total number of goals from the past campaign, demonstrating how he has become more clinical since the start of the term.
As well as Lucas' good display, Javier Pastore and Blaise Matuidi were also deserving of praise for their excellent performances. The Argentine capped a creative showing, full of trickery, by supplying a perfect chipped pass to Moura before he was fouled for the second penalty. Matuidi merely confirmed he has now rediscovered his former level of fitness after another display similar to those that became so commonplace they were taken for granted the past season. The French international's bursting runs forward were also a constant menace to the Bordeaux back line.
Captain Thiago Silva and David Luiz's central defensive partnership continues to blossom, too, and has kept a second consecutive clean sheet in all competitions after coming through their collective Ligue 1 debut strongly. Both put in solid performances, but Luiz once again impressed the most. He could also have found himself on the score sheet, had his first-half free-kick not cannoned back off the post.
All things considered, PSG coach Laurent Blanc can feel happy with the result, as there was little to really fault his team. However, there were one or two negative points on an otherwise bright afternoon.
First of all, Van der Wiel's 28th-minute red card creates a problem for le President in that the Dutchman will now miss three Ligue 1 matches. Although it was a reckless challenge from the 26-year-old on Wahbi Khazri, there is a debate to be had over whether it was a straight red-card offence. In any case, referee Tony Chapron quickly evened things out by dismissing Poko nine minutes later with an equally debatable decision. One of the three matches Van der Wiel will miss as part of his suspension is le Classique against Marseille early next month, a big blow for Blanc.
An even bigger blow than his first-choice right back's absence, though, will be that of key midfielder Thiago Motta. The PSG No. 8 will also miss the game as the result of a yellow card picked up in the first half. The Italian and his compatriot Marco Verratti both came into the game on bookings, but surprisingly, only the latter managed to finish with a clean slate. Blanc will be praying his team does not pick up any further unnecessary suspensions or injuries before the Marseille clash.
Overall, it was a thoroughly deserved victory for PSG, and the team played some excellent football at times. Blanc used his substitutions well and ultimately made the right choice to sacrifice Jean-Christophe Bahebeck after the Van der Wiel sending off, even though it was harsh on the Frenchman, who does deserve his chance to impress after some recent good form.
The champions made light of their notable absences and are now starting to gather pace. If PSG can keep this up between now and the Marseille showdown in three games' time -- when they should hopefully have star man Ibrahimovic back -- they might have significantly whittled down les Phoceens' lead at the summit.