PARIS -- Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery called the French champions' 2-0 win over Montpellier on Saturday "very important," as his team went top of Ligue 1 for the first time this season.
Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria scored either side of half time at Parc des Princes to send Les Parisiens a provisional three points clear of Monaco and the tactician emphasised the importance of winning at home and in the race for Le Championnat.
"It was very important to take all three points in front of our supporters," said Emery after the final whistle. "It was an open match, the team played attacking football and put on a show for the fans.
"Overall, we mastered the game and I think we deserved our win. It was a very important victory in terms of Ligue 1 and it was a good thing that we did not concede a goal. The team created many chances and could have even scored a third."
Di Maria was always confident that he and his teammates would create chances to win and now wants the team to push on to win the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France.
"The most important thing was to win this match," the Argentina international said. "It was a good game. We knew that Montpellier would spend a lot of time on the counter-attack. We knew that we would create chances to score.
"We scored and played the way we like to, that is all that matters. We managed to do that. I am glad I scored, it is important to help the team. We need to keep winning to reach our objectives."
Midfielder Blaise Matuidi, who scored twice in the dramatic 3-2 win away at Metz earlier in the week, provided Cavani's opener and was delighted with PSG's defensive solidity after yet another clean sheet in Ligue 1.
"We were up against a wonderful Montpellier side," said the France international. "We managed to score twice, we are also happy to have kept another important clean sheet. We are continuing to do things our way.
"I did not know that it was our 19th clean sheet in the league this season. Statistics like that prove how strong we are defensively."
Left-back Maxwell put in another solid performance but admitted that he and his teammates do not know if it will be enough to prompt a Monaco wobble in their two games in hand.
"We were stronger, even if we lost a little balance at times," the veteran Brazilian observed. "In the second half, we controlled the match more with greater possession. We created chances. However, the most important thing was to win. We move forward with confidence.
"The most we can do is win our games. We do not know if we can put pressure on Monaco. In any case, they have played very well this season and need to be congratulated for that."
Monaco are away at Lyon on Sunday in the first of their two Ligue 1 games in hand over the capital club.