THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways after three straight draws, beating Ajaccio 4-1 at home Sunday to move one point ahead of Montpellier at the top of the French league.
Record signing Javier Pastore and winger Jeremy Menez gave PSG a 2-0 lead, but defender Yoann Poulard replied just before halftime to ensure a nervy finish at Parc des Princes.
PSG was at the mercy of a possible equalizer from the Corsican side until Guillaume Hoarau struck four minutes from time with his third goal in three games to make the result safe, before Brazilian winger Nene grabbed his 13th league goal of the season in injury time.
"It’s a very important win and takes us back to the top. We played some good football tonight," PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "In the first half, the players were playing a bit too much for themselves. But we finished the game very well by scoring twice at the end."
Montpellier drew 1-1 away to Dijon on Saturday, while defending champion Lille threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home to Auxerre, a result which leaves it eight points behind PSG and drifting away from title contention.
"The results have gone our way this weekend," Ancelotti said. "We were under a bit of pressure before the match, but we’re happy to be back in first place."
Rennes stayed in fourth spot, and closed the gap on third-place Lille to four points, after a comfortable 2-0 win at struggling Lorient.
Winger Jonathan Pitroipa gave Rennes the lead in the 41st with a curling shot into the bottom left corner, and then set up forward Youssouf Hadji to make it 2-0 with a shot from just outside the penalty area late in the second half.
"We’re in a good position, and if the top clubs slip up then we’ll be there to take advantage," Rennes coach Frederic Antonetti said.
Ancelotti started with Hoarau in attack instead of Kevin Gameiro, rewarding the tall striker for scoring last-gasp equalizers in successive games against Montpellier at home and away to Lyon.
After Nene hit the post early on, Pastore opened the scoring in the 27th minute when he picked up the ball 30 metres out, played a one-two with midfielder Blaise Matuidi, and smacked a powerful shot past Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.
Pastore created the second goal two minutes later when he slipped the ball to Menez on the left of the penalty area, and the French winger pushed the ball onto his right foot before curling it under the crossbar.
Despite dominating possession, PSG still looked vulnerable at the back.
"It’s a bit of a harsh scoreline. We were well organized and tried to create chances," Ajaccio coach Olivier Pantaloni said.
Three of the four goals conceded in last weekend’s 4-4 draw at Lyon stemmed from free kicks, and PSG was again caught out from a set piece situation when Poulard popped up unmarked to turn in a free kick.
"Coming back to 2-1 boosted us and I thought for a long time that we would get back to 2-2," Pantaloni said.
As PSG pressed for the third goal after the break, Nene hit the crossbar with a curling free kick and his volley was brilliantly saved by Ochoa in the 82nd.
Ochoa reacted well to keep out a stinging shot from Hoarau moments later, but the striker finally beat him shortly after when he ran onto Nene’s pass and clipped the ball over him as he dashed off his line.
PSG completed the scoring in the second minute of injury time when midfielder Clement Chantome crossed from the right and Nene finished from close range.
Caen and Brest both remain in the bottom half of the table after a scrappy 0-0 draw.
Brest defender Jonathan Zebina was sent off deep into injury time but his team had already done enough to secure a draw. Brest is in 11th place, Caen is 13th and Lorient is 14th.
In Saturday’s other matches, it was: Marseille 0, Toulouse 1; Nancy 2, Lyon 0; Saint-Etienne 0, Evian 2; Sochaux 1, Valenciennes 1 and Bordeaux 1, Nice 2.