Ligue 1: Ezequiel Lavezzi goal enough to give PSG victory over Rennes and keep up pressure on Lyon

Paris Saint-Germain kept the heat on Ligue 1 leaders Lyon with a 1-0 victory over Rennes at the Parc des Princes on Friday night.

Ezequiel Lavezzi struck just before the half-hour mark as the hosts extened their winning run to five matches in all competitions.

Laurent Blanc's reigning champions sit one point behind Lyon and two ahead of third-placed Marseille, both of whom have yet to play this weekend, while the defeat leaves Rennes in 10th.

The visitors came close to opening the scoring midway through the first half as Fallou Diagne collected Pedro Henrique's pass on the right of the 18-yard box, but his shot from a tight angle went inches wide.

PSG scored with their first real effort of note after 29 minutes with a great team goal. Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent a brilliant ball toward Adrien Rabiot, who immediately picked out Javier Pastore with a cross and Argentina international Lavezzi was waiting in the centre of the goal to power home from close range.

Five minutes later the visitors spurned a great chance to equalise as Pastore played a poorly-weighted back pass which was intercepted by Abdoulaye Doucoure. The midfielder was clean through but his tame shot was well saved by Salvatore Sirigu, who won the duel with a brilliant bit of goalkeeping.

Just before half-time Sweden striker Ibrahimovic missed an oppotunity to double his side's lead as he shot wide.

The hosts started the second half on the front foot and Edinson Cavani saw an effort well saved by Benoit Costil after a cross from Marquinhos.

Ibrahimovic turned defender after 54 minutes as he headed clear Paul-Georges Ntep's dangerous free-kick just outside the penalty box, while - down at the other end - Pastore fired inches wide as PSG looked to add a second.

Rennes came close to netting an leveller deep into the second half but Henrique failed to fully control the ball from Sylvain Armand and Sirigu blocked his effort as he kept a clean sheet.