Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways in Ligue 1 with a 3-0 victory over bottom side Nimes at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday. (More Football News)
The champions suffered a shock 3-2 loss to lowly Lorient on Sunday - their first defeat under Mauricio Pochettino - but responded with a comfortable victory on home soil.
Star man Angel Di Maria profited from a terrible Lamine Fomba error to open the scoring and then crossed for Pablo Sarabia to add a second before half-time.
Kylian Mbappe scored a stunning third goal for PSG, who were without the suspended Neymar, but they remain third in the table as leaders Lille and second-place Lyon also triumphed.
Moise Kean clipped the outside of the post with a header from 10 yards but PSG were ahead seven minutes later through Di Maria's composed finish.
Nimes midfielder Fomba played the ball straight to Di Maria's feet and the Argentina international fired away from Baptiste Reynet after teeing himself up.
The home side nearly had a second soon after when Presnel Kimpembe headed a corner back across goal and Thilo Kehrer turned it against the underside of the crossbar.
But Sarabia did manage to double his team's tally nine minutes before the interval, heading Di Maria's right-sided cross into the bottom-right corner from five yards.
Fomba was denied by Sergio Rico as he tried to make amends for his earlier error, while Anthony Briancon and Renaud Ripart also had attempts saved by the stand-in PSG keeper.
Nimes continued to ask questions of their opponents but the game was put out of their reach by Mbappe, who curled a shot past a stranded Reynet to seal the win.
What does it mean? PSG back on track
PSG's shock defeat to Lorient was their fifth of the Ligue 1 campaign - their most after 22 games of a season since 2011-12 - yet they are still within three points of top spot in what is shaping up to be a thrilling title race.
Pochettino's men could not have asked for a better fixture than this one to restore some confidence against a side that have now won just one of their last 11 outings.
The visitors may have matched their opponents in terms of shots on target (six each), but PSG were ultimately a lot more composed in front of goal as they made it five home league wins in a row without conceding for the first time since April 2014.
Di Maria thrives in Neymar's absence
Neymar was serving a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards, but his absence was not felt thanks mainly to the impressive performance of Di Maria.
The Argentine winger had a direct role in two goals in the first half and played a total of four key passes – a match high – during his 70 minutes on the field.
Kean the odd man out
Three of PSG's four starting attackers registered goals, the exception being Kean. The Everton loanee has a more-than-respectable nine goals in 15 league appearances this term, but he has now gone three games without finding the net.
He failed to test Reynet from his two efforts here and touched the ball only 22 times before being taken off 10 minutes from the end.
What's next?
PSG go to bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday for Le Classique and Nimes are at home to Monaco on the same day.
