Luis Enrique’s rampant side put seven past Brest in midweek UEFA Champions League (UCL) action, but the Parisians looked insipid by comparison early on here, and created next to nothing in the opening 10 minutes despite dominating possession.
When they eventually did, the in-form Ousmane Dembélé was predictably at the centre of things, beating the Lyon offside trap and rounding goalkeeper Lucas Perri, but subsequently seeing his goal-bound strike cleared off the line by Clinton Mata, whose despairing slide earned him a painful collision with the post.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was next to threaten an opener when his mazy run allowed him the time to shoot from inside the box, but he was wasteful with the finish.
A goalless first half marked PSG’s first blank before half time in 12 matches, and with Lyon – who had scored 10 times in their previous three matches under Paulo Fonseca – offering very little in the final third in response, the overall lack of attacking quality on display was particularly surprising.
PSG needed just eight minutes to put that right following the restart – albeit controversially. Ernest Nuamah’s appeals for a penalty after being bundled over by Nuno Mendes ultimately fell on deaf ears, and the league leaders broke with typical ruthlessness.
Bradley Barcola’s low cross from the left was pulled behind the crowded six-yard box, where Achraf Hakimi was arriving to rifle an effort into the bottom corner.
One soon became two for the Parisians through the red-hot Dembélé, who pulled further clear as the division’s leading scorer with a sensational solo effort, picking out the top corner after a direct run at the heart of the Lyon defence.
Lyon lacked any invention in the final third until the late introduction of Georges Mikautadze, who needed less than three minutes to skip down the left and square for Rayan Cherki to halve the deficit.
Any hopes of a late comeback were dashed almost immediately though, as Hakimi doubled his personal tally with another precise finish into the far corner after a wonderfully intricate PSG move.
Corentin Tolisso headed home from Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ cross in the second minute of stoppage time to reignite the contest, but with so little time left, PSG saw out a victory that keeps them in complete control at the Ligue 1 summit.
A seventh H2H home defeat in eight meetings for the hosts leaves them down in sixth, and seven points adrift of the third UCL qualification spot, but upcoming fixtures against fellow European hopefuls Brest and Nice are likely to be a much clearer indicator of how high they can finish.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)