Paris Saint-German 3-0 Guingamp: Zlatan nets first of season a
The Parisians ran out easy winners as the
Sweden striker managed to find the net for the
first time this campaign, following a difficult start
to the season Zlatan Ibrahimovic ended his recent
goal drought as well as seeing a late penalty
saved as Paris Saint-Germain cruised to a 3-0
win over Guingamp in Ligue 1 on Tuesday.
The Sweden international netted his first club goal
of the season - at the fourth attempt - for the
French champions just as it looked as though he
was going to be left exasperated on an otherwise
straightforward evening for PSG.
After two draws in their previous league outings,
there was a danger the crowd at Parc des Princes
could have grown impatient with Laurent Blanc's
men, but a star-studded team quickly settled any
nerves around the stadium and the result rarely
looked in doubt.
Javier Pastore slotted a cool finish home from the
edge of the box to make it 1-0 after just 18
minutes, and the lead was doubled by Angel Di
Maria's close range finish in the second half.
Ibrahimovic delighted the home fans in the 83rd
minute with a brilliantly taken goal, and he could
have doubled his tally for the season had it not
been for the exploits of Guingamp goalkeeper
Jonas Lossl, who pulled off a late penalty save.
Laurent Blanc restored some star quality to his
starting line-up, with David Luiz returning to
action, as well as Blaise Matuidi, Di Maria and
Edinson Cavani stepping up after being named as
substitutes in PSG's previous Ligue 1 outing – a
disappointing 1-1 draw at Reims.
Cavani, who grabbed a late equalizer at Reims,
went close after three minutes, poking Gregory
van der Wiel's cross onto the palms of Lossl.
That set the tone for the evening, and PSG soon
took the lead.
Ibrahimovic darted through midfield and picked out
Pastore on the edge of the box, who stroked a
side-footed shot between two defenders and into
the corner of the net, past the diving Lossl.
The Sweden star came tantalizingly close to
doubling the lead when he met Maxwell's pass
with a first-time left-footed chip that just curled
away from the target.
The second half began with an onslaught on
Lossl's goal, and Ibrahimovic's low, 25-yard free-
kick bounced off the keeper's chest, shortly
before a last-ditch clearance from Laurent Dos
Santos denied the increasingly frustrated striker.
Pastore almost doubled his tally when he robbed
Moustapha Diallo of possession and scampered
into the box, where he plundered a shot that
forced a good save from Lossl.
Di Maria grabbed a share of the glory courtesy of
an Ibrahimovic shot that Lossl spilled at his feet,
allowing the former Manchester United man to
tuck away his first league goal for PSG.
Ibrahimovic finally got on the scoresheet when Di
Maria's pass picked him out in the box, and he
needed just two touches to fire in past Lossl at
the far post, however he could not repeat the feat
from 12 yards after Cavani was brought down.
Elsewhere in Ligue 1, Reims were held to a third
successive draw after their visit to Angers ended
goalless.
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