It was a solid and then a suddenly spectacular performance in front of new boss Mauricio Pochettino who returned to the bench after a week in isolation with the coronavirus.
His side’s task was made easier 16 minutes into the encounter. Kylian Mbappé, racing onto a through ball, was upended by Montpellier goalkeeper Jonas Omlin.
Referee Willy Delajod initially brandished a yellow card but after checking with the video assistant referee, changed the sanction to a straight red.
After a couple of squandered chances, PSG finally made the breakthrough. Neymar surged forward from midfield, pushed the ball onto Angel Di Maria who slid it on to Mbappé.
The France international, without a goal in 2021, impudently chipped the ball over the dive of substitute keeper Dimitry Bertaud.
"I've been really pleased with the work Kylian has been doing and now I'm glad that he has scored," said Pochettino. "Confidence is crucial for a striker. "
Goal rush
Neymar swept in the second on the hour mark and Mauro Icardi smashed home the third a minute later.
After neat interchanges between Neymar and Icardi, Mbappé was left with a simple tap-in to rack up the fourth after 63 minutes.
"As for the front four, it's true that we haven't played many matches but we've already had different combinations," Pochettino added.
"With this squad, we can really envisage a lot of formulas. I'm really very satisfied with this one. But we still have to see which are the best possible combinations."
Lille can join PSG on 45 points if they beat Rennes on Sunday afternoon.
