5 things we learned in Ligue 1 this weekend: Nobody wants to finish 2nd

With another weekend of Ligue 1 action in the books, we take a look back at five things we learned from the latest slate of matches.

Every Ligue 1 side save for Lille and Nantes played twice during a congested list of fixtures, and nobody took better advantage than Paris Saint-Germain and OGC Nice, who snatched the maximum six points while outscoring opponents 7-1 and 10-2 respectively.

Hatem Ben Arfa cannot stop scoring

Nice thrashed Bordeaux 6-1 on Wednesday, with Ben Arfa scoring twice in a seven-minute second-half span. Not to be outdone, he replicated the act Sunday in a 4-1 win at second-place St. Etienne.

His first in the second match was a dazzling strike on the laces that dipped and curved under the command of a footballing puppet master.

To top it all off, the four goals came on his last four shots, shooting Nice up the table to seventh on 14 points, one shy of a logjam of four sides sitting on 15.

Expectations for both Ben Arfa and the club were shrouded in uncertainty in this summer, but things are looking peachy with a string of results coupled with disenchanted performances from supposed challengers Monaco, Lyon, and Marseille.

PSG is scoring again, though Laurent Blanc remains unimpressed

Paris Saint-Germain found their scoring boots again, beating Guingamp 3-0 at Parc des Princes on Tuesday before a brilliant second half secured the three points in a 4-1 romp at Nantes on Saturday.

The Big Three of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Angel Di Maria, and Edinson Cavani all scored after the interval, with the latter's stunning blind, narrow-angle header giving the defending champion the lead with 18 minutes to play.

Even with a dominant second half to cap off a perfect week, PSG gaffer Laurent Blanc was less than impressed, saying postgame "if you do the math in the second half, we were very good, even excellent, but if you look at the ninety minutes as a whole, you'd be less impressed."

Harsh if not somewhat true from Blanc, whose side sit four points clear of St. Etienne and remain Ligue 1's only unbeaten side.

David N'Gog sighting in Reims

Call off the search party, former Liverpool attacker David N'Gog has been spotted in Reims. And to top it all off, he scored the decisive goal in Friday's 1-0 victory over Lille to leapfrog Rennes for third in the Ligue 1 table.

The once-heralded Paris Saint-Germain product joined the Reds in 2008 to the plaudits of then-manager Rafa Benitez, and hopes were high for the largely unknown talent. Despite making 63 appearances for the club, N'Gog fizzled out during the 2010-11 season before bouncing from Bolton to Swansea City and back to France in 2014.

The lanky striker signed with Reims in September, 2014, and matters immediately took a turn, a low point being an illness-related refusal to travel for an away match at Lorient and his subsequent disappearance.

Only 26, N'Gog has plenty of football ahead of him in hopes that the northern side can offer the consistency and continuity to regain the form he's exhibited in flashes throughout his nine-year professional career.

Lille goal watch 3.0

Topic of both concern - and this weekly feature - Lille fell 1-0 at Reims, despite the best attacking efforts led by Eric Bautheac and Sofiane Boufal that started rather positively.

Things may improve Tuesday, when Herve Renard's lot host Nantes, who in seven matches have only scored three goals while allowing 10. Something's gotta give.

Goals of the Week

Aldo Kalulu's 18th minute individual effort - courtesy of a deft side-footed touch from veteran Steed Malbranque - gave Lyon a 1-0 advantage over the Corsicans Bastia during their midweek tilt at Stade de Gerland:

Matters all but settled Saturday at Stade de la Beaujoire with a 3-1 advantage and minutes to play, PSG's Ivorian full-back Serge Aurier cradled a Javier Pastore cross half a yard behind him and fired an impromptu scissor strike past Nantes netminder Remy Riou:

Lorient's Rafidine Abdullah fired home this rocket as part of an underwhelming visit to Stade de la Mosson that saw Montpellier win for the first time, leaving Troyes and GFC Ajaccio as Ligue 1's winless sides.

This installment of Goal of the Week ends in a tie, as Di Maria and Ben Arfa - who both voyaged to France at very different points in their careers looking for a return of form - finished other-worldly individual efforts in one-sided victories.

The Argentine international made a mockery of Nantes' back four and 'keeper Riou to finish a left-footed lob before elegantly spinning, to the delight of the judges.

Ben Arfa channeled his inner Diego Maradona to score his second of two goals within seven minutes of the interval versus St. Etienne. What a week for the lad:

A la prochaine, mes amis.