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- Saint-Etienne 1-6 Paris Saint-Germain: Doue double puts visitors on the brink of Ligue 1 title
Saint-Etienne 1-6 Paris Saint-Germain: Doue double puts visitors on the brink of Ligue 1 title
Paris Saint-Germain need a draw between Monaco and Nice on Saturday to lift the Ligue 1 title after thrashing Saint-Etienne.
Paris Saint-Germain edged closer to a 13th Ligue 1 title after coming from a goal behind to thump Saint-Etienne 6-1, with Desire Doue scoring twice.
Luis Enrique's side are now relying on Monaco's clash with Nice to end in a draw, with one result already going in their favour after Marseille's defeat to Reims.
Saint-Etienne, however, stunned their opponents after just nine minutes when Lucas Stassin headed them in front, guiding his effort from Zuriko Davitashvili's cross home.
PSG found their feet in the game but failed to test Gautier Larsonneur in the Saint-Etienne goal, with Lucas Beraldo and Fabian Ruiz firing strikes over the crossbar.
But Luis Enrique's side were handed a way back into the match three minutes before the break when Florian Tardieu kicked through Goncalo Ramos inside the box.
Ramos dusted himself down to convert the penalty, but PSG almost found themselves behind again soon after, but Stassin was unable to beat Matvey Safonov.
PSG were revitalised after the break and went ahead in the 50th minute after Mickael Nade's loose pass was ruthlessly punished by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Doue then got in on the act just three minutes later, before Joao Neves put the result beyond doubt just after the hour as he stroked the ball beyond Larsonneur.
The Parisiens continued their second-half surge as Doue rifled the league leaders four goals ahead, with the Frenchman's mazy run ending with a fierce strike into the roof of the net.
Ibrahim Mbaye added further gloss to the scoreline late on, bundling home his first Ligue 1 goal after being unselfishly set-up by Barcola inside the box.
Data Debrief: PSG go level with Milan after away day rout
Saint-Etienne's 27-game winless run against PSG looked like it could come to an end after a sensational start to this game, but Luis Enrique's side responded in style to continue their fine form on the road.
Indeed, PSG have not lost any of their last 38 Ligue 1 away games (W30 D8), equalling the longest such unbeaten run ever among the European top five leagues (38 for AC Milan between 1991 and 1993).
The victory also saw Ruiz overtake Marquinhos for the longest unbeaten run in the French top-flight. The midfielder has now gone 49 games without defeat with PSG, overtaking the Brazilian's 48 matches without a loss between May 2014 and March 2016.
But their victory was inspired by a brilliant display from Doue. He ended the contest with team-high totals for chances created (five), shots on target (three) and touches (97), while also bringing up 20 goal involvements (nine goals, 11 assists) across all competitions this season.