Kvaratskhelia off mark, Dembele scores twice as PSG beat Monaco

PARIS: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored his first Paris Saint-Germain goal and in-form Ousmane Dembele bagged a brace as the Ligue 1 leaders eased to a 4-1 win over Monaco on Friday.

Vitinha´s early opener for PSG was cancelled out by a Denis Zakaria equaliser at the Parc des Princes, but Kvaratskhelia´s superbly taken goal restored the home side´s lead early in the second half.

It was the Georgian´s first PSG goal on his fourth appearance since signing last month from Napoli for a reported 70 million euros ($72m).

Dembele quickly made it 3-1 and rounded out the victory late on, Ligue 1´s leading scorer taking his tally for the season to 16.

He has scored 16 times in his last 10 appearances in all competitions, and an astonishing eight times in his last three matches.

PSG are now 13 points clear at the top of the table from Marseille, who go to Angers on Sunday, while Monaco are another three points behind in third place.

The Parisians have not lost in domestic competition this season, and now head into a Champions League knockout phase play-off tie against French rivals Brest, with the first leg in Brittany on Tuesday.

Friday´s result means PSG have lost just one of their last 61 games against French opposition going back to September 2023.