Paris Saint-Germain beat Toulouse 3-1 last night at Parc des Princes, a result that keeps Luis Enrique four points clear of Lens and smooths the run into next week’s Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool. Ousmane Dembélé did the heavy lifting with goals in the 23rd and 33rd minutes, while Gonçalo Ramos closed it out in the 90th minute after Toulouse captain Rasmus Nicolaisen had briefly levelled in the 27th minute.
Luis Enrique stuck with his 4-3-3 and allowed Kang-in Lee to connect the midfield trio to the wide forwards. The opener was the payoff, Dembélé finding the net in the 23rd minute after a patient spell of possession. Toulouse, set up in M. Debeve’s 3-4-2-1, replied almost immediately when Djibril Sidibé supplied the pass for Nicolaisen to convert in the 27th minute. The parity lasted just six minutes: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia slid the crucial ball into Dembélé’s path in the 33rd minute and Paris restored control.
From there the champions monopolised the ball. They finished with 72 percent possession, 812 passes at 91 percent accuracy, and seven shots on target to Toulouse’s one. Warren Zaïre-Emery and Lucas Beraldo smothered transitions, Lee produced five key passes in 59 minutes, and Kvaratskhelia’s five efforts on goal, plus that assist, made him untouchable until Nuno Mendes relieved him in the 68th minute. Cristian Cásseres Jr. collected a yellow card in the 36th minute, summing up Toulouse’s increasingly desperate attempts to disrupt the rhythm.
The visitors managed only 0.16 expected goals, their wing backs pinned so deep that Aron Dønnum and Yann Gboho were reduced to chasing shadows. Debeve’s triple change in the 83rd minute, introducing Mario Sauer, Ilyas Azizi, and Jacen Russell-Rowe, arrived too late and could not shift the territorial imbalance.
Luis Enrique refreshed his side earlier: João Neves replaced Lee in the 59th minute to protect the midfield balance, Vitinha came on for Beraldo in the 67th minute, and Mendes brought fresh energy on the left. Mendes combined with Ramos immediately, the substitute striker introduced for Désiré Doué in the 87th minute and finishing from the full-back’s pass in the 90th minute to settle it. It underlined how carefully the coaching staff managed minutes before Liverpool arrive in midweek.
Paris stay in complete command of Ligue 1 and can watch the chasing pack, including Marseille’s trip to Monaco previewed in Snapshot, with interest. Toulouse remain ninth but need sharper work in the final third before hosting Lorient.
Key numbers:
- Possession: PSG 72 percent, Toulouse 28 percent
- Shots on target: PSG 7, Toulouse 1
- Expected goals: PSG 1.79, Toulouse 0.16
- Passes completed: PSG 739 of 812, Toulouse 246 of 311
