Lionel Messi scores to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo record and take PSG back top of Ligue 1

Lionel Messi's early goal earned Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win over Lyon to regain top spot in the Ligue 1 table ahead of Marseille on Sunday.

With his fifth-minute strike, Messi surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo’s total of 671 non-penalty goals and made it four wins from as many Ligue 1 games for PSG.

Neymar set up the Argentina forward with his seventh assist in eight Ligue 1 games.

The victory pulled PSG two points clear of Marseille who had taken top spot earlier with a 1-1 draw at home against Rennes.

Lorient, 3-1 winners over Auxerre, are three points adrift of the leaders.

Lens dropped to fourth after being held to a goalless draw in Nantes.

"PSG played a great game tonight, against a difficult team which was waiting for us," said PSG coach Christophe Galtier.

"We scored a good goal and could have scored others.

"We were much more balanced, Neymar in particular gave us a balance which was really necessary. Even if we were less mobile in the second half we still had a lot of chances."

PSG have won nine and drawn one of their 10 games in all competitions and while they have shown less brilliance lately, they were still a cut above at the Groupama Stadium.

The performance, however, was not enough for PSG midfielder Vitinha, who believed they should have put the match to bed.

"I'm satisfied with the result but not with the performance. We could have played better. There's a lot of room for improvement," the Portuguese midfielder said.

"We should have controlled the match better in the second half and we should have had more chances with the possession we had."

Marseille's French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi celebrates scoring against Stade Rennais. AFP

Earlier, Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi scored both goals in a