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

Argentine's fifth-minute strike against Lyon was his 671st non-penalty goal

Paris Saint-Germain's Argentine forward Lionel Messi runs with the ball during the French Ligue 1 match against Olympique Lyonnais at The Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, central-eastern France, on September 18, 2022. AFP

Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi dribbles with the ball. AFP

Lionel Messi reacts after a missed chance. Reuters

Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi is congratulated by teammates after scoring against Lyon. AFP

PSG forward Neymar, left, congratulates teammate Lionel Messi on his goal against Lyon. AFP

Paris Saint-Germain's Argentine forward Lionel Messi. AFP

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring against Lyon. Reuters

Paris Saint-Germain's Argentine forward Lionel Messi. AFP

Lionel Messi takes a shot under pressure from Lyon's French defender Malo Gusto. AFP

PSG's Lionel Messi has his shot saved by Olympique Lyonnais' Anthony Lopes. Reuters

PSG's Lionel Messi, left, Kylian Mbappe, centre, and Neymar, during the warm-up. Reuters

Paris Saint Germain's Leo Messi in action during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Decines, near Lyon, France, 18 September 2022. EPA / Mohammed Badra

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."

Earlier, Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi scored both goals in a 1-1 draw at home against Rennes.

Guendouzi bundled past home keeper Pau Lopez to give Rennes the advantage after 26 minutes but the former Arsenal player redeemed himself with a header past ex-Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda seven minutes after the break.

Nice fell 1-0 at home against Angers in a match in which defender Jean-Clair Todibo earned a red card after five seconds and both teams finished with 10 men.

Todibo was sent off after just nine seconds, and that includes the four seconds it took referee Bastien Dechepy to pull the card out of his pocket.

Sofiane Boufal kicked off for Angers and passed to Adrien Hunou. He found striker Abdallah Sima surging forward. Sima pushed the ball past Todibo who stuck out a leg and tripped the striker.

After a VAR review, the decision that Todibo was the last defender stood.

Even though Boufal was later sent off, Angers won 1-0 with Nabil Bentaleb scoring just before the break.

"I don't think it was a red card," said Nice coach Lucien Favre saying Dante and Jordan Lotomba were covering. "It was not a scoring opportunity.

"We would have won this game if we had played with eleven players."

There was also red card controversy in Reims who fell 3-0 to Monaco with defender Bradley Locko sent off after 22 minutes for leaving a boot in on Breel Embolo.

"The referee killed the game," lamented Reims coach Oscar Garcia, and "it's not the first time".

In a punishing game in Brittany, Ajaccio got their first win of the season 1-0 at Brest in a match where two players were stretched off.

Seconds after kick-off, Ajaccio goalkeeper Benjamin Leroy caught a teammate's knee head-on as he tried to catch a ball.

"There was a loss of consciousness, he was hit in the neck," said Corsican coach Olivier Pantaloni.

An aerial duel also floored Noah Fadiga after half-an-hour, leaving the defender stunned in a head-to-head clash with Ismael Diallo.

The 22-year-old Brest player also left the pitch on a stretcher, giving the thumbs up to try to reassure the fans.

Ajaccio got their first success of the season thanks to Romain Hamouma's 65th-minute goal, to leave the Corsicans only one point behind Brest and Strasbourg.

Elsewhere Troyes won 3-1 at Clermont to move up to 10th after two defeats in a row.