Paris Saint-Germain have extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to eight points with a narrow 1-0 victory over Montpellier at home.
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The hosts could have surged ahead as early as the first minute had Clement Chantome been able to keep his shot on target from a good position.
Three minutes later Remy Cabella almost made him pay for his miss when he put PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu in an awkward position with a dipping shot.
Thereafter, it was Carlo Ancelotti's side who began to dominate proceedings at Parc des Princes, Jeremy Menez curling his effort just wide before Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent a shot over the Montpellier crossbar.
Gaetan Charbonnier went close for the defending French champions with a curling effort on 25 minutes, before Ibrahimovic shot wide of Geoffrey Jourdren's goal and Thiago Silva forced the Montpellier goalkeeper into making a good save.
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Alex also saw his close-range header saved by Jourdren just after the half-hour mark, and minutes into the second period Gregory van der Wiel fired over the crossbar.
Montpellier soon settled into their rhythm, as Cabella and Charbonnier both put the PSG defence under pressure before the hour mark.
However, PSG carved out the victory with nine minutes of normal time remaining, David Beckham and Menez combining to set up Ibrahimovic, who then squared the ball for Kevin Gameiro to tap in from close range.
Subhankar Mondal
