Dembélé stars as PSG crushes bitter rival Marseille 5-0 to regain top spot in Ligue 1

PARIS (AP) — Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé starred with two goals and an assist as Paris Saint-Germain crushed bitter rival Marseille 5-0 to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

The win restored defending champion PSG's two-point lead over Lens after 21 rounds, with Marseille in fourth place behind Lyon after the humiliating defeat.

“We wanted to send a message that we're back,” Dembélé said after PSG's biggest winning margin against Marseille.

“It was almost perfect,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “It's an important day for our fans because we made history, 5-0 never happened before.”

Despite PSG's attacking flair, Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi's choices will be scrutinized following a truly dismal performance from his side lacking composure and fight. Marseille was eliminated from the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat against Club Brugge less than two weeks ago.

“Once again, I say sorry to the fans,” De Zerbi said. “I'm not in the players' heads. I thought we had prepared well for this game but clearly not. We need to understand why we played this way in Bruges and here.”

Top scorer Mason Greenwood, fellow forward Amine Gouiri and new signing Ethan Nwaneri were anonymous in attack, with veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench.

De Zerbi dropped goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli after a couple of poor performances and replaced him with Jeffrey de Lange, who was out of sorts, albeit not helped by his defense.

De Lange was easily beaten when Dembélé side-footed in a cross from left back Nuno Mendes in the 12th minute following a quick break launched by Désiré Doué.

However, PSG could have been down to 10 players before then. Midfielder Vitinha caught defender Leonardo Balerdi's ankle with a late tackle but escaped with a yellow card.

Having denied Bradley Barcola with a fine low save, De Lange was beaten again in the 37th when Dembélé profited from a glaring error from Balerdi.

He let the ball through his legs on PSG's right flank, allowing Dembélé to attack the penalty area, dribble past him and find the roof of the net.

“We can't accept this, we don't come here to play like this,” said Balerdi, who did not mention his own performance. “We were not good enough and you could see it. Against such a team you pay for it.”

Marseille's weak defense cracked in 10 second-half minutes, with Facundo Medina scoring an own-goal over the head of De Lange, and Dembélé setting up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for a clinical volley before Lee Kang-in slotted home the fifth.

Marseille's 1-0 win over PSG in September will seem like a distant memory.

PSG fans were in the spotlight after last season's match at Parc des Princes was marred by homophobic and racist chanting, with a warning to “stop discriminatory chants” posted on the giant screen.

There were brief discriminatory chants about Marseille at the start of the game and referee Willy Delajod stopped play for about one minute around the 70th, at which point a message was posted on the big screen.

Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Köhn got away with a blunder in a 0-0 draw at Nice in the French Riviera derby.

Köhn stopped the ball going out for a corner but slid and mis-kicked it to attacking midfielder Sofiane Diop on the edge of the penalty area in the 72nd minute. Diop’s curling shot was going in until defender Thilo Kehrer acrobatically heeled the ball away.

Folarin Balogun hit the crossbar for Monaco in the third minute.

Veteran striker Ciro Immobile drew a blank on his league debut for Paris FC in a 0-0 draw at Auxerre.

During the 2019-20 season he finished as the “Capocannoniere” (top scorer) in the Italian league with 36 goals for Lazio and has scored 304 goals overall at club level.

Immobile played forward Jonathan Ikoné clean through during the second half, but Ikoné's shot was saved.

Angers moved up to ninth after beating Toulouse 1-0 thanks to a brilliant lob from defender Lilian Raolisoa from nearly 40 meters out in the 89th.

Le Havre moved up to 13th after winning 2-1 at home to Strasbourg.

Lens beat Rennes 3-1 on Saturday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

PSG fans light flare prior to the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, center, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

PSG's Ousmane Dembele celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

PSG's Ousmane Dembele, top left, celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

PSG's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille in Paris, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

MADRID (AP) — Kylian Mbappé struck again as Real Madrid beat Valencia 2-0 on Sunday to win its seventh game in a row in the Spanish league and move back within a point of leader Barcelona.

Mbappé scored from close range early in second-half stoppage time for his ninth goal in six games to seal Madrid's win. Álvaro Carreras had put Madrid ahead in the 65th with his second goal with the club.

Madrid was playing without Vinícius Júnior (yellow card suspension) and Jude Bellingham (left hamstring injury).

Madrid's last defeat in the league was in December at home to Celta Vigo.

Barcelona defeated Mallorca 3-0 at home on Saturday for its 17th win in its last 18 games in all competitions.

Valencia fans jeered the team after the final whistle. It's in 17th place, just outside the relegation zone.

Fifth-place Real Betis won 1-0 at third-place Atletico Madrid in a game played three days after it was routed 5-0 by Atletico at home in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.

Antony netted Betis' winner on Sunday to give the team its second straight league win. Diego Simeone's Atletico has won only one of its last three matches in all competitions.

Sevilla and Girona drew 1-1 in a game that was moved to Sunday because of bad weather, with Girona striker Cristhian Stuani entering the match just to take a late penalty kick and failing to convert it.

The match was scheduled to be played on Saturday but the league put it back a day because of a severe storm alert in the southern city of Seville.

Girona took the lead two minutes into the match with Thomas Lemar's goal. The hosts eventually equalized with a long-range shot into the top corner by Kike Salas two minutes into stoppage time.

Six minutes later Girona missed a chance to get back in front when Stuani was denied from the penalty spot.

Girona coach Míchel put Stuani into the match to take the penalty after it was awarded, and the veteran Uruguayan sent a low shot that was saved by Sevilla goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.

“If I have to take a chance on someone taking a penalty, it will always be Stuani,” Míchel said.

Spanish media said Stuani hadn't failed with a penalty kick in a league game in three years.

The result left Girona in 12th place, one point ahead of 13th-place Sevilla. Girona is winless in three straight league matches.

Rayo Vallecano’s home match against Oviedo on Saturday was postponed on short notice because of safety concerns over the field at Vallecas Stadium.

Athletic Bilbao beat 10-man Levante 4-2 in a match with four goals scored after the 80th minute.

Athletic had a two-goal lead at halftime but Levante pulled closer in the 81st before the hosts made it 3-1 in the 86th. Levante scored again four minutes into stoppage time, and Athletic extended the lead in the ninth minute of added time.

Levante, second-to-last in the standings, played a man down from the 17th as Alan Matturro was sent off with a straight red card.

Athletic, in 10th place, hadn't won in six straight league games with its last victory over Atletico Madrid in December.

Getafe, in 11th, ended a nine-game winless streak across all competitions by winning 2-0 at 14th-place Alaves.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, centre, and Valencia's Eray Comert challenge for the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, right, and Valencia's Eray Comert challenge for the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)

Real Madrid's Alvaro Carreras, left, celebrates with Dean Huijsen, centre and Kylian Mbappe after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)

Real Madrid's Alvaro Carreras celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)