Five-star Paris SG extend Ligue1 lead

AFP, PARIS: Zlatan Ibrahimovic took his tally to 14 goals in his last 11 Ligue 1 games as Paris Saint-Germain outclassed Lyon 5-1 on a gloomy Sunday night in the French capital.
Ibrahimovic and Serge Aurier both netted in the first 17 minutes for Laurent Blanc’s side before a shocking error by goalkeeper Kevin Trapp allowed Jordan Ferri to pull one back for Lyon.
However, Edinson Cavani restored PSG’s two-goal advantage after the restart and Ibrahimovic got his second of the night from a penalty.
Substitute Lucas added the fifth in stoppage time as PSG moved a scarcely credible 17 points clear of their nearest challengers Angers and Monaco with the campaign just 18 games old.
PSG are now unbeaten in 27 Ligue 1 games, a run going back to March, and remain on course to break the record for the most points halfway through a French season.
The great Lyon team of the last decade had 50 points at the mid-way stage in 2006/07, but Paris already have 48 points and so can set a new mark with a victory at Caen in their last game of the year.
This was a meeting of the reigning champions and the team that pushed them the furthest in the title race last season, but Lyon are a shadow of their old selves and were deprived of a host of key players at the Parc des Princes, including the injured Alexandre Lacazette.
Visiting goalkeeper Anthony Lopes had already saved from Ibrahimovic and Cavani before the Swede opened the scoring 11 minutes in when Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, rather than clear, headed Thiago Silva’s long ball into his path.
Six minutes after that Paris struck again, Aurier gratefully heading in from close range after a brilliant dead-ball delivery from the left by Angel Di Maria.
Lyon were given hope when Ferri let fly from almost 30 yards and Trapp, attempting to tip the shot over, only succeeded in helping the ball into the net.
The German was ironically cheered by the home fans whenever he got the ball after that and the goal did lift the away side.
Nevertheless, there was a gulf in class between the teams and PSG scored again just after the hour mark, Cavani turning in another Di Maria cross to score for the 10th time in Ligue 1 this season.

Five-star Paris SG extend Ligue1 lead

AFP, PARIS: Zlatan Ibrahimovic took his tally to 14 goals in his last 11 Ligue 1 games as Paris Saint-Germain outclassed Lyon 5-1 on a gloomy Sunday night in the French capital. Ibrahimovic and Serge Aurier both netted in the first 17 minutes for Laurent Blancs side before a shocking error by goalkeeper Kevin Trapp allowed Jordan Ferri to pull one back for Lyon. However, Edinson Cavani restored PSGs two-goal advantage after the restart and Ibrahimovic got his second of the night from a penalty. Substitute Lucas added the fifth in stoppage time as PSG moved a scarcely credible 17 points clear of their nearest challengers Angers and Monaco with the campaign just 18 games old. PSG are now unbeaten in 27 Ligue 1 games, a run going back to March, and remain on course to break the record for the most points halfway through a French season. The great Lyon team of the last decade had 50 points at the mid-way stage in 2006/07, but Paris already have 48 points and so can set a new mark with a victory at Caen in their last game of the year. This was a meeting of the reigning champions and the team that pushed them the furthest in the title race last season, but Lyon are a shadow of their old selves and were deprived of a host of key players at the Parc des Princes, including the injured Alexandre Lacazette. Visiting goalkeeper Anthony Lopes had already saved from Ibrahimovic and Cavani before the Swede opened the scoring 11 minutes in when Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, rather than clear, headed Thiago Silvas long ball into his path. Six minutes after that Paris struck again, Aurier gratefully heading in from close range after a brilliant dead-ball delivery from the left by Angel Di Maria. Lyon were given hope when Ferri let fly from almost 30 yards and Trapp, attempting to tip the shot over, only succeeded in helping the ball into the net. The German was ironically cheered by the home fans whenever he got the ball after that and the goal did lift the away side. Nevertheless, there was a gulf in class between the teams and PSG scored again just after the hour mark, Cavani turning in another Di Maria cross to score for the 10th time in Ligue 1 this season.