Montpellier 1-2 Paris St-Germain

PSG forward Ezequiel Lavezzi scored his eighth goal of the season in Ligue 1 against Montpellier

Paris St-Germain were crowned French champions for the third consecutive season after a hard-fought away victory over Montpellier.

PSG needed only a point to be certain of becoming only the fourth Ligue 1 club to win three consecutive titles.

France midfielder Blaise Matuidi and Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi gave the visitors a two-goal cushion.

Montpellier forward Anthony Mounier pulled one back for the home side but Laurent Blanc's men held on.

Now PSG are aiming to become the first team to win a Ligue 1, French Cup and French League Cup treble.

They lifted the Coupe de la Ligue with a 4-0 win against Bastia last month and face second-tier Auxerre in the Coupe de France final on 30 May.

Laurent Blanc has won Ligue 1 in each of his two seasons at PSG, adding to his title success at Bordeaux in 2009

PSG were without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who missed the game with a calf injury, and in the Sweden striker's absence they were not quite at their fluent attacking best.

In their previous four matches PSG had scored 17 goals with eye-catching wins over both Lille and Guingamp where they scored six goals.

Blanc's side created plenty of chances but were only able to secure victory by a narrow advantage after Montpellier, who had the slim hope of securing a Europa League place before kick-off, pushed them right to the end.

Matuidi, who said this week he does not want to leave PSG after being linked with a move to the English Premier League, opened the scoring in the 17th minute.

He broke through the home side's defence and took a neat touch before he stroked the ball into the corner of the net.

Lavezzi added a second with a crisp finish from Serge Aurier's low right-wing cross which beat the dive of Montpellier goalkeeper Jonathan Ligali.

Mounier reduced the deficit five minutes before the break when he swung in a left-footed cross and the ball sailed over the head of Salvatore Sirigu in the PSG goal and into the net.

Elsewhere, Lyon secured second spot after a 1-1 draw with Bordeaux, while the race for the third and final Champions League place will go down to the final weekend.

Monaco are currently in third spot after a 2-0 win over Metz but should they slip up Marseille and St-Etienne are poised.

Marseille were 4-0 winners over Lille while St-Etienne claimed a 2-0 success over Evian, who are now relegated to Ligue 2 along with Metz and Lens.

PSG are the French champions for the fifth time in their 45-year history after previous successes in 1985-86, 1993-94, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15

PSG won their eighth consecutive top-flight game, equalling their record in Ligue 1