Paris Saint-Germain: Pastore Wonder-Goal Seals PSG Victory over Montpellier

The 22-year-old Argentine can disappear for what seems interminable stretches at times, a maddening tendency for a player with such incredible talent. It may seem a harsh assessment, but Javier Pastore should be held to a higher standard—his quality (and his transfer fee) demands it.

Despite another slow start to Saturday's crucial showdown with league leaders Montpellier, Pastore once again showed an intuitive sense for when to deliver the simply sensational when his team needs him most.

At 1-0 up (off a well-taken Kevin Gameiro goal) in a game that had been largely bossed by Montpellier in the opening stages, Siaka Tiene picked out Pastore with a searching cross-field ball that found the No. 27 midfielder on the right periphery of the penalty area.

Pastore knew exactly what he was going to do, setting himself up perfectly to take a spectacular full volley that fired past keeper Geoffrey Jourdren into the bottom left corner of the net.

The English match commentator offered a comparison to Dennis Bergkamp, so sublime was Pastore's gest.

While the two are considerably different as players, the former Dutch maestro would surely have applauded such a miraculous bit of skill. After all, Bergkamp was renowned for also making the difficult look easy during his career.

The €42 million Paris invested in Pastore this summer looked an even more astute decision when he took advantage of a terrible mistake by Jourdren, who had misjudged the trajectory of a long ball over the top. Before Jourdren could recover from his error, Pastore had nicked the ball past him, his touch almost taking him to the endline before he slotted home for PSG's third on the night.

It was Pastore's fourth league goal in six matches, and it was the icing on the cake of what turned out to be an excellent performance. His work rate was superb, and the former Palermo man was matched in that category by teammates Jeremy Menez and Blaise Matuidi, both of whom recovered a multitude of possession with their hustle and industry.

Menez, more known for his attacking intent on the right wing, was a bigger surprise than the deeper lying midfielder Matuidi, but it was encouraging to see such determination from the native Parisien.

The comprehensive victory sees the Parisiens go level with Lyon at the top of the Ligue 1 standings with 17 points. Toulouse is also at that mark but have a poorer goal differential, slotting in at third.

Montpellier very nearly could have changed the entire course of the match within three minutes in the opening period.

Talismanic striker Oliver Giroud missed a golden chance to send his southern side ahead, when his close-range shot fired over Salvatore Sirigu's goal. Giroud showed why he's already at four goals this term, however, as the former Tours man gave the Parisien central defensive combination of Diego Lugano and Zoumana Camara fits all evening with his guile and skill.

He almost matched Pastore's volleyed wonderstrike with an acrobatic effort of his own, but his bicycle kick in the last 10 minutes was (incorrectly) ruled offside by a sideline crew that, to be fair, was miles away from optimal.

Having already thrashed Toulouse 3-1 earlier this season, Paris's newest victory over a would-be contender sent a convincing message to the rest of Ligue 1. These guys are ready to contend for the title.

That Oct. 2 match against Lyon at the Parc des Princes must be circled on the calendar already.