PARIS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Angel Di Maria undoubtedly became man of the match in Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 win over 10-man Marseille in Le Classique at the Parc des Princes to extend their advantage atop Ligue 1 standings on Sunday.
The Argentinian winger was directly involved in all of PSG's goals, scoring two and dishing out one assist. Kylian Mbappe also improved his tally of league goals to 26.
Having played one game less, PSG establish a 20-point cushion over second-placed Lille, who conceded a 1-0 home defeat to Monaco on Friday.
Di Maria had a goal disallowed around the quarter hour mark. A powerful shot from his teammate Thomas Meunier was blocked by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda ten minutes later.
PSG had to make consecutive substitutions earlier than expected as Dani Alves and Meunier were both forced off due to injuries, but they managed to break the deadlock through a counter-attack just before the break, as Di Maria teed up Mbappe's cool finish at the far corner of the goal.
Marseille made their response one minute after the restart. Valere Germain latched onto Lucas Ocampos' left-flank cross for an equalizer.
Di Maria put the runaway leaders in front again by playing a one-two with Thilo Kehrer and curling a finish at target in the 55th minute.
Further misery was inflicted on the visitors seven minutes later, when Mandanda was given a marching order for blocking the ball with his arm as he raced out of the box to restrain Di Maria.
Substitute goalkeeper Yohann Pele, in place of forward Mario Balotelli, had to get the ball from the net after falling in front of Di Maria's stunning free-kick won through Mandanda's foul.
Pele could feel somewhat a bit consolation after denying Mbappe's stoppage-time penalty.
PSG stay unbeaten in their last 19 meetings with Marseille in all competitions since their latest loss back in November 2011.
Lyon edged Montpellier 3-2 at home to close on the second place with a four-point deficit from Lille.
Despite seeing his initial attempt denied by goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte, Martin Terrier managed to move the hosts ahead 12 minutes into the match. However, that was cancelled out by Florent Mollet's free-kick in the 36th minute.
Lyon striker Moussa Dembele continued his recent momentum as he latched onto Tanguy Ndombele's stitching pass to sweep his 12th league goal of the campaign in the 58th minute.
Mollet might have thought that his second goal of the match arrived in the 68th minute, only to see that ruled offside. Two minutes later, Lyon captain Nabil Fekir wasted a penalty by firing it quite wide.
But Lyon still bagged victory into their pocket with Hossem Aouar's header with four minutes remaining. Souleymane Camara reduced Montpellier's deficit two minutes into stoppage time.
With nine matches to go, Lyon put up their strong contention for second place and automatic qualification for next season's Champions League.
Also on Sunday, Paulo Sousa failed to snatch full points in his coaching debut at Bordeaux, as his team conceded a stoppage-time goal in a 1-1 tie with Rennes. Remi Oudin's strike earned sixth-placed Reims a 1-0 home victory over Nantes in fighting for a berth in European competition next season.