Paris Saint-Germain destroys Monaco to clinch Ligue 1 title
L'Hexagoal has returned to familiar hands.
Paris Saint-Germain has taken the Ligue 1 trophy back from AS Monaco courtesy of a magnificent 7-1 win over the previous holder at the Parc des Princes on Sunday, with Unai Emery's side extending its lead at the top of the table to 17 points and clinching the title with five matches left in the season.
The victory - and the subsequent title celebrations - were assured within the first half hour, as Giovani Lo Celso, Edinson Cavani, and Angel Di Maria each found the back of the net in the first 27 minutes of play, with Lo Celso scoring the first and the fourth en route to this statement result.
Cavani's well-placed header was his 113th league goal for PSG, which brings him level with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the team's all-time top scorer in Ligue 1.
Di Maria's goal - the third of the night, and PSG's 100th of the season - was also particularly pleasant to behold for PSG's supporters as the diminutive Argentine made goalkeeper Danijel Subasic play the part of helpless onlooker by way of an excellent chipped effort that flew well over his head.
Related: PSG's domestic dominance papers over cracks of another European dud
Indeed, it was symbolic for the rest of the match as PSG looked unmatched by Monaco, despite the principality club going toe-to-toe with the Parisians for the entirety of the 2016-17 campaign and pipping the title with an eight-point lead. But a diminished Monaco, now without a trio of its previous key starters, could only watch on as former striker Kylian Mbappe celebrated his second straight domestic title in the colours of France's most dominant outfit.
While Monaco's Rony Lopes cut PSG's four-goal lead to three with an effort of his own seven minutes from half-time, it did little to deter PSG's charge in the second half, as Emery's outfit stormed past the battered Monaco backline on three more occasions courtesy of Di Maria, Julian Draxler, and a Radamel Falcao own goal to secure an emphatic victory and a seventh Ligue 1 title - PSG's fifth in the last six seasons.