Luis Enrique admitted that Paris Saint-Germain were lacking confidence in their 1-0 win over Auxerre.
Bradley Barcola was the matchwinner for the Parisiens, scoring in the 79th minute to move them two points ahead of Lens, who face Marseille on Saturday.
Barcola, who scored his 30th Ligue 1 goal (five with Lyon, 25 with PSG), had the most shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box in the match (seven).
He also had four big chances; no other player has recorded more in a Ligue 1 match in 2025-26.
PSG produced 2.07 expected goals (xG) from 16 shots, eight of which were on target in total, but Auxerre goalkeeper Donovan Leon pulled off seven saves.
It was the second-most saves he has made in a Ligue 1 game in the last 10 years, recording 11 stops against PSG in December 2024.
Nevertheless, PSG have now earned 45 points in Ligue 1 this season – each of the last eight teams to reach at least this tally after 19 matches in the top-flight have finished as champions at the end of the season (Lyon once, PSG themselves seven times).
Luis Enrique was pleased to see his side move back to the top of Ligue 1, but believes they must gain confidence sooner rather than later.
"I think it’s very clear, it’s a special moment. We put pressure on Lens, that’s the main thing," said the Spaniard.
"It’s difficult, there’s a lack of confidence and precision to finish chances, it was complicated.
"You need confidence to face this type of situation. In the first fifteen minutes, we had chances but we missed them, they defended well.
"After that, we lost possession, we need to keep improving because this is happening at a difficult time; it's a time when we are imprecise."