Dembélé brace lifts PSG back to the top of Ligue 1; Monaco lose to Lorient and continue their dismal form

Ousmane Dembele put the transfer talk behind him to score a crucial brace for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a 3-0 win over Lille to return them to the top of Ligue 1 on Friday.

French media reported last week that the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner had rejected a new contract offer.

PSG manager Luis Enrique called the speculation fake news, and Dembele’s focus was razor-sharp in a match between two of the league’s top four.

His goal in the twelfth minute from over twenty meters away gave the Lille goalkeeper no chance, and his second eighteen minutes in the second half reminded us why he won the Ballon d’Or.

With four defenders in front of him, Dembélé somehow found space to deflect the most daring shots that fooled goalkeeper Berke Ozer and fell in just under the crossbar.

Substitute Bradley Barcola, also whose future is subject to speculation, rounded off the scoring in stoppage time when he struck late defense to slot home the third.

The victory caused nerves for the defending champions, just days after city rival Paris FC knocked the club out of the French Cup.

Friday’s victory put PSG two points ahead of Lens, which has a match in hand against the penultimate Auxerre on Saturday.

Lille remained fourth, 10 points short.

Meanwhile, Monaco fell 1-3 in what was their seventh defeat in eight games after another poor performance, this time at home to Lorient.

Lorient’s Bamba Dieng had a goal disallowed in the first half, but he got one that counted midway through the second period. The Senegalese attacker took advantage of a mistake by Monaco’s defense.

Ansu Fati equalized eight minutes later, but goals from Jean-Victor Makengo in the 85th minute and Dermane Karim three minutes from time gave visiting Lorient all three points and extended their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions.

Lorient remains just one point behind ninth-placed Monaco.

Published on January 17, 2026