PSG moved 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 after beating Monaco. (Source: AP)
Edinson Cavani scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain won 4-0 at hapless Monaco, but the Uruguayan twice needed a little assistance from the video assistant referee as his side cruised to their 13th straight Ligue 1 win on Sunday.
The crushing win, which also featured a goal from Neymar, gives the champions a maximum 39-point haul but leaves Thierry Henry still searching for his first win as coach of Monaco, who are second from bottom on seven points.
Cavani gave the visitors the lead in the fourth minute, perfectly timing his run to stab home a cross-shot from Neymar but the goal was only awarded after a video review to check that he was onside.
He was on target again for the champions seven minutes later, sliding to send Moussa Diaby’s pass bouncing over the line, and after another referral to VAR, referee Ruddy Buquet pointed to the centre circle as the goal was confirmed.
There were no questions about his third, though, as he popped up at the far post to again stab the ball home from close range, completing his hat-trick eight minutes into the second half.
Neymar piled the misery on Monaco by slamming home a 64th-minute penalty after Kylian Mbappe was felled in the box by Djibril Sidibe.
VAR also came to Monaco’s rescue on two occasions, ruling out goals by Julian Draxler and Mbappe for offside, but they were completely outclassed.
Already hit by a slew of injuries that have made Henry’s managerial debut such a trial, Monaco’s bad luck was summed up when Nacer Chadli was injured early on, with his replacement Jordi Mboula substituted in the second half after suffering a hamstring injury.
In the day’s earlier games, Caen battled to a scoreless draw at Bordeaux to climb past Dijon, who lost 2-0 at Marseille, and out of the relegation zone, while Rennes and Nantes drew 1-1.