With Lens' win over Le Havre (1-0) on Friday, PSG required a sixth consecutive victory in Ligue 1 to retain the top spot it had earned last week.
Facing an unpredictable and attack-minded Strasbourg side that had recently changed coaches, Luis Enrique fielded Safonov in goal, behind a defence composed of captain Marquinhos and Pacho in the centre, flanked by Hakimi and Mendes. Vitinha, Neves and Zaïre-Emery lined up in midfield, behind the front three comprising Barcola, Mayulu and Mbaye.
A trip to La Meinau is never easy, and you cant afford any lapses in concentration against a fast counterattacking opponent. But the Parisians were solid and controlled the game in the opening quarter hour. The home side were awarded a penalty following an unintentional handball by Marquinhos, but Safonov flew across goal to save Panichelli's attempt (20').
Paris charged straight up the other end and, as Sarr attempted to clear a loose ball in his area, Barcola blocked the ball into the path of Mayulu, who hit a first-time shot past Penders to open the scoring (0-1, 22').
The lead was short-lived, however, as Gary O'Neil's men quickly equalised through Doué, who finished off a nice team move (1-1, 26'). As always between these two sides, it was an entertaining affair for the nuetral observer.
After the break, Luis Enrique brought on Désiré Doué in place of Mbaye, and it was the substitute who created the best chance of the early stages of the second half with a wonderful curling shot that narrowly missed Penders' top corner (56').
The rhythm slowed in the second half, as Strasbourg were seemingly happy with a draw. But the intensity returned in the last quarter of an hour when Hakimi was sent off by the referee after a late tackle on Panichelli (75').
Just as it looked as though Paris were holding on, they took the lead thanks to Nuno Mendes' third goal of the season. Zaïre-Emery, who had switched to the right, was released by Lee and the Titi sent a long cross to the far post for the Portuguese full-back to head beyond Penders (1-2, 81').
Luis Enrique's men showed great control and composure to see out the match, with Kang-In Lee, who had been omnipresent since coming on, putting in a particularly strong performance.
There was no further change to the scoring and Les Rouge et Bleu moved back to the top of the table, a week before Le Classique and the visit of Olympique de Marseille to the Parc des Princves - the start of what promises to be a particularly spectacular month of February!