Paris Saint-Germain head coach Unai Emery has praised Angel Di Maria in the wake of Friday's narrow 1-0 Ligue 1 win over Lille.
The Argentina international was heavily criticized after PSG's goalless draw versus Marseille last week, but showed improvement at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Di Maria set up Edinson Cavani for the second-half winner, while he also had a goal controversially disallowed for handball before the break.
Emery feels the performance will have boosted his winger's confidence in the week where he missed out on the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist.
"Di Maria is important for the team and he made some good runs," Emery told reporters.