Neymar-Cavani tiff mars PSG win

PARIS - Star forwards Neymar and Edinson Cavani argued over who should take a penalty kick as Paris Saint-Germain extended its perfect record in the French top flight to six matches with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Lyon on Sunday.

Facing its stiffest challenge this season against the seven-time champion, PSG needed two own-goals from Lyon defenders Marcelo and Jeremy Morel to secure the points at Parc des Princes.

PSG now leads defending champion Monaco by three points.

The host enjoyed most of the possession but its attacking "MCN" trident of Kylian Mbappe, Cavani and Neymar was not as flamboyant as in previous matches. Lyon defended well and shackled Neymar while Cavani had only a few touches.

Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes made several decisive saves and diverted a Cavani penalty onto the bar in the 79th minute.

Moments before, Cavani and Neymar argued over who should take the spot-kick.

A few minutes before that, Uruguayan Cavani had tried to take a freekick but Neymar's good friend and fellow Brazilian Dani Alves took the ball and gave it to the former Barcelona star.

Cavani thrived last season as PSG's main striker, finishing as Ligue 1's top scorer and bagging a remarkable 49 goals in 50 games across all competitions. Neymar's arrival from Barcelona for a world-record $264 million has taken the spotlight away from him.

Cavani retreated to the dressing room straight after the final whistle while his teammates celebrated on the pitch.

PSG was fortunate to open the scoring 15 minutes from time when Marcelo deflected a Cavani flick into his own net.

The host doubled its lead nine minutes later when Mbappe was set up by Neymar and forced Lopes into another good save, with the ball bouncing back onto Morel and into the net.

Lyon created several chances on the break as Nabil Fekir's pace unsettled PSG's defense. The visitor's best chance came with 22 minutes left when new signing Tanguy Ndombele fired a shot that crashed onto the bar.

Marseille stops rot

Meanwhile, Clinton Njie scored two goals in three minutes as Marseille won its first league match in a month, a 2-0 victory at promoted Amiens on Sunday.

After conceding nine goals in back-to-back losses to Monaco and Rennes, Marseille needed a good result on the road to calm its fans, who have demanded coach Rudi Garcia be fired.

Njie, who missed the Rennes loss through injury, made a successful return, starting up front with former West Ham star Dimitri Payet and opening the scoring just after the interval from close range.

The win lifted Marseille to within eight points of PSG.

Mario Balotelli scored a late goal as Nice claimed a third consecutive win in all competitions with a 1-0 defeat of Rennes.

Balotelli was perfectly set up on the right side of the pitch by Alassane Plea's through-ball 11 minutes from time. The former Manchester City and Liverpool striker beat the offside trap and unleashed a powerful strike into the top-right corner.

Associated Press