Paris St Germain’s Kevin Gameiro, second-right, celebrates after scoring against Reims during their match on Sunday. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Paris Saint-Germain again left its fans feeling disappointed after scraping a 1-0 home win against Reims on Saturday, despite provisionally moving to the top of the French league for the first time this season and remaining unbeaten.

Just like in the last home match, when he scored both goals in a lacklustre performance against Sochaux, Kevin Gameiro again proved to be PSG’s match-winner when he headed home in the second half.

“It was a difficult match, with players coming back from the international break, so we couldn’t prepare the match properly,” PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “The second half was better, and we deserved to win. It’s good to be top of the league, even if it’s only for one night.”

But Reims had the better chances in the first half and missed the chance to take the lead in the 40th minute when Brazilian midfielder Diego missed a penalty.

“It is a little bit [frustrating] because I don’t think we played very well tonight, particularly in the first half when Reims caused us a lot of trouble,” PSG defender Christophe Jallet said. “At the end of the second half we should have killed the game off. We can’t [miss] so many chances. I think that’s why there was a bit of tension, because we were on the razor’s edge.”

PSG is level with Marseille, but Marseille can restore its three-point lead if it wins away at last-place Troyes on Sunday.

Toulouse climbed temporarily into third place after a crushing 4-0 win away over Evian.

Goals from midfielder Franck Tabanou and Emmanuel Riviere put Toulouse 2-0 up at halftime. Riviere got another just after the break and Norway midfielder Daniel Braaten wrapped up a convincing victory with the fourth in the 87th.

Valenciennes is a point behind Toulouse in fourth spot after an even bigger win, routing previously unbeaten Lorient 6-1 at home.

Benjamin Corgnet gave Lorient the lead in the seventh minute but Valenciennes hit back quickly with goals from Carlos Sanchez and Anthony Le Tallec, and things became worse for Lorient when defender Arnaud Le Lan was sent off in the 17th.

Lorient finished the match with nine players after Swiss striker Innocent Emeghara was sent off in the 75th.

Lyon can leapfrog both teams and reclaim third place if it beats Brest at home on Sunday.

At Parc des Princes, Nene’s clever back heel gave Gameiro PSG’s only shot on target in the first half, and it was cleared off the line by defender Aissa Mandi.

PSG right back Gregory van der Wiel then blatantly handled the ball, and got a reprieve when Diego’s spot kick was expertly saved by Salvatore Sirigu.

Reims left back Pape Souare caused problems throughout and he saw two of his shots blocked close to halftime, with PSG centre half Mamadou Sakho saving one effort with his face.

“If we keep playing like that and win 1-0 we won’t be far off from our objectives,” Jallet said. “We have to be satisfied with the win, but we must play much better.”

PSG did improve in the second half. Reims goalie Kossi Agassa was twice saved by the woodwork as France midfielder Blaise Matuidi hit the crossbar with a curling shot, and France winger Jeremy Menez struck the left post with a fierce shot. His luck ran out in the 65th when Maxwell crossed from the right and Gameiro nipped in ahead of his marker.

“It’s great to score, especially as it was the only goal of the game,” said Gameiro, who started only his second league game. “It’s not easy to go from substitute to first-team player. Sometimes your legs go and you feel a bit tired.”

Elsewhere, it was: Nancy 1, Sochaux 1; Nice 1, Saint-Etienne 1, and Rennes 2, Montpellier 1.

Cameroon midfielder Jean II Makoun got his first goal of the season to give Rennes the lead, and Turkey striker Mevlut Erding made it 2-0 early in the second half before Younes Belhanda pulled a goal back from the penalty spot for the defending champion.

Rennes sealed its third straight league win to climb up to ninth spot ahead of Saint-Etienne, while Montpellier hovers just above the relegation zone.

Midfielder Eric Bautheac scored for Nice only for Brazilian striker Brandao to earn Saint-Etienne a point with his fourth goal in as many games.

Sochaux and Nancy stay in the relegation zone. Nancy took an early lead through centre half Sebastien Puygrenier, but winger Sebastien Roudet levelled in the 55th.

In Sunday’s other game, Ajaccio takes on Bastia in a Corsican derby.

Borussia Dortmund falls to rival Schalke: Bundesliga

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Defending champion Borussia Dortmund slumped to a 2-1 loss at home to bitter rival Schalke in the 141st Ruhr derby on Saturday, while Bayern Munich became the first side to start the Bundesliga with eight wins.

“We didn’t play well, that was the first problem,” said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp.

Ibrahim Afellay opened the scoring in the 14th minute, when he crashed a low shot in off the left post, and Schalke went 2-0 up in the 48th, when Marco Hoeger finished off a counterattack after a brilliant through ball from Lewis Holtby.

Robert Lewandowski pulled one back with a header from Marco Reus’ free kick seven minutes later, but it wasn’t enough to save Dortmund’s 17-game unbeaten run at home or prevent the side falling 12 points behind Bayern.

“We didn’t play enough football,” Klopp said. “Altogether it was a deserved win for Schalke.”

Thomas Mueller scored twice in Bayern’s 5-0 rout of Fortuna Duesseldorf, with Mario Mandzukic, Luiz Gustavo and Rafinha also on target for the visitors.

Elsewhere, Freiburg won 2-0 at Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 with Mainz, and second-place Eintracht Frankfurt beat Hannover 3-1.

Marco Arnautovic scored one and set up another as Werder Bremen enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.

“We forget to defend sometimes, and we’re paying the price,” said Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre.

Nils Petersen opened the scoring in the 37th, before Arnautovic made it 2-0 at the interval with a delicate chip over the outrushing Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Arnautovic eluded two defenders to set up substitute Niclas Fuellkrug in the 76th, before Zlatko Junuzovic completed the scoring by stopping the ball with the back of his heel and hitting it on the half-volley beyond the helpless Ter Stegen.

“It’s important for the forwards. That’s why they’re there — to score goals,” said Bremen captain Aaron Hunt, who split the defence for Arnautovic’s first.

The Ruhr derby was overshadowed by serious rioting outside Dortmund’s stadium before kickoff. The dapd news agency reported that at least 150 fans were arrested, and that police used a water cannon and pepper spray to bring the situation under control. Some 600 Schalke fans were prevented from clashing with several hundred Dortmund supporters. Local police had 1,000 officers on duty for the high-risk game.

Dortmund, which hosts Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, started without four injured internationals — Mario Goetze, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Marcel Schmelzer and Ilkay Guendogan — and Klopp amended his formation with three at the back.

Fitness concerns

“We were a bit surprised that Dortmund played with a different formation. But we adjusted to it,” said Schalke coach Huub Stevens, who was missing Greek defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos and German midfielder Julian Draxler for the club’s 1,500th Bundesliga game.

“We fought very well [after Dortmund scored] and deserved to bring home the win,” Stevens said.

Schalke has concerns over Holtby’s fitness ahead of Wednesday’s visit to Arsenal after the forward went off after a hard but fair challenge from Neven Subotic.

In Duesseldorf, Franck Ribery delivered a perfect cross for Mandzukic’s seventh goal of the season in the 28th, eight minutes before Luiz Gustavo inadvertently scored Bayern’s second.

Ribery was again involved when Mueller made it 3-0 in the 55th, David Alaba crossed for the Germany international’s second in the 86th, and Rafinha rounded off the scoring a minute later.

“We really wanted to win this game,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said. “What impressed me most of all was that we allowed absolutely nothing at the back.”

Gonzalo Castro’s 87th-minute equalizer salvaged a point for Leverkusen, following goals from Adam Szalai and former Leverkusen player Marcel Risse for Mainz. Stefan Kiessling had given Leverkusen the lead in the 43rd.

Wolfsburg was bottom of the table after a Daniel Caligiuri penalty and Julian Schuster strike condemned Felix Magath’s side to its fifth defeat of the season.

“We had big plans to put them under pressure,” Magath said. “We didn’t do it.”

The under-pressure Magath will come under further scrutiny after opting to leave Brazilian playmaker Diego on the bench.

“When we saw the lineup without Diego, we knew to expect a lot of high balls. Our defence dealt with it well,” said Freiburg coach Christian Streich.

Frankfurt made a blistering start against Hannover, with Karim Matmour and Sebastian Jung making it 2-0 by the 18th minute.

Mohammed Abdellaoue pulled one back in the 43rd, but Alexander Meier sealed the win in the 83rd.

“I’m rather proud that my team won against such a good side,” said Frankfurt coach Armin Veh.