Coach Paul Le Guen is happy that PSG are still in the title race although he admitted the players need to do better.

Sammy Traore grabbed the winner for PSG in their 2-1 success at the Parc des Princes yesterday evening, but typically they did not make it easy for themselves.

The goal they conceded, to bring the score level at 1-1, came as a result of a bad back-pass by forward Peguy Luyindula while the hosts were forced to hold out at the end after squandering chances to kill off the game.

Le Guen, whose side have won 12 of the 17 victories this campaign by one-goal margins, admitted he was used to seeing his men crawl to the finishing line.

"We did what we had to," said Le Guen. "We suffered, but that is a regular thing for us.

"We are not winning a lot of matches by heavy scores but the important thing is that we are winning more of them than we are losing.

"We stay in the peloton behind the leader and we must be satisfied, but not completely happy, with that."

The victory lifted PSG one place to fifth, level on 55 points with fourth-placed Lille, and they move back to within four points of Lyon at the summit.

After back-to-back defeats, to Marseille then Toulouse, the capital club needed a pick-me-up if they wanted to stay in contention for the title.

Guillaume Hoarau handed them the lead in the 20th minute yesterday when he bundled in a close-range header after Ludovic Giuly's shot had been saved, but Loic Remy equalised after he intercepted Luyindula's ill-conceived back-pass to Mickael Landreau.

Traore saved the day six minutes into the second half when he headed home Stephane Sessegnon's left-wing corner.

"We had to bounce back and we did," said Giuly. "We had to take maximum points at home.

"On Sunday, we go to Lille and that is going to be a massive turning point."

Before that, PSG play Dynamo Kiev at home on Thursday in the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-finals.