Paris Saint-Germain seized control of their Champions League knockout play-off tie against Brest on Tuesday, with Ousmane Dembele scoring twice in a 3-0 away win. (More Football News)
The match, which marked only the second time two French sides had faced each other in Champions League history, was decided by some clinical finishing from Luis Enrique's team.
They broke the deadlock after 21 minutes, with Vitinha converting a penalty after Pierre Lees-Melou was ruled to have handled in front of his goal.
Brest had chances to level as Abdallah Sima headed against the post and an Achraf Hakimi mistake went unpunished, and PSG doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time.
Dembele cut inside from the right flank and beat Brest goalkeeper Marco Bizot at his near post with a low strike, scoring in his eighth consecutive match for PSG.
In the 66th minute, Dembele secured his brace and potentially PSG's place in the last 16, latching onto a loose ball in the box before drilling home.
The result leaves Brest with a mountain to climb ahead of the return leg at the Parc des Princes on February 19.
Data Debrief: Dembele makes his mark
Dembele's first goal – an unerring finish at Bizot's near post just moments before the break – made him the first PSG player to net in eight straight games since Neymar achieved the feat between May and August 2022.
Having doubled up after the break, Dembele now has 18 goals in his last 11 games for PSG in all competitions.
Since the start of December, he has scored more goals than any other player from Europe's top five leagues.
He was one of 11 different Frenchman to start the game, eight doing so for Brest and three for PSG, the most French starters in a Champions League match since April 2010, when Bordeaux faced Lyon in the competition's only other all-French tie (13).
