Dembele grabs brace as PSG warm up for Liverpool with win

Ousmane Dembele scored twice in the first half as Paris Saint-Germain beat Toulouse 3-1 and increased its lead of Ligue 1 to four points on Friday.

The game was brought forward to give PSG more recovery time ahead of next Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal with Liverpool at the Parc des Princes.

PSG came into the match having scored 12 goals in its last three games and it took the lead midway through the opening period when Dembele crashed a superb volley into the top corner from the edge of the 18-yard box.

However, four minutes later goalkeeper Matvey Safonov could not secure a wicked in-swinging corner and Rasmus Nicolaisen headed home the rebound to level the scores.

Dembele restored PSG’s lead 12 minutes before halftime.