Ligue 1 match report: PSG 2-0 Bastia

Paris St Germain returned to Ligue 1 action following the mid-season break with a routine 2-0 victory over Bastia that extended their lead at the top of the table to 22 points.

First-half goals from Thiago Motta and Maxwell proved enough for Laurent Blanc's men, who have now won 17 of their 20 league games during the current campaign.

PSG were not without their early problems against their 16th-placed opponents, who went into the game having lost just one of their last six games in all competitions.

In a largely uninspiring opening quarter of the game, Seko Fofana missed the two best chances to give the visitors a shock lead.

Manchester City loanee Fofana wasted his first chance when he dragged a shot wide then also miscued from long range in what proved an encouraging start for Ghislain Printant's men.

The home side rode out the early scare and seized on their first opportunity to grab the lead.

Thiago Motta opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark when he helped home a Thiago Silva header from close range following a corner from Angel Di Maria.

And 10 minutes later fellow Brazilian Maxwell doubled the hosts' lead when he deflected home an effort from Di Maria to effectively seal yet another comfortable victory.

Serge Aurier almost extended the hosts' lead early in the second half when he had a shot blocked by Julian Palmieri, then Zlatan Ibrahimovic fizzed an effort wide.

Bastia made the most of their let-off and came close to reducing the deficit shortly after the hour mark when Palmieri shot a powerful effort which was well saved by Kevin Trapp in the PSG goal.

Another Brazilian, Lucas Moura, had the last chance to add some gloss to the Paris performance when he flashed a late attempt over the bar at the end of another fine spell of pressure from Blanc's men.

It proved another good performance by the runaway leaders who extended their advantage over second-placed Monaco, who face Ajaccio on Saturday.

Meanwhile Printant's' men remain hovering just above the relegation zone ahead of their next game against Montpellier in a week's time.