PSG romp Bastia in Ligue 1
Ibra at his best
PARIS, France ● A brace from star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped to propel Paris Saint Germain to a 4-0 romp at Bastia on Saturday as the capital club moved into provisional third spot in Ligue 1.
A flurry of early draws have held up PSG’s assault on the summit currently occupied by Marseille, who were three points ahead of their traditional rivals ahead of a home meeting with Evian on Sunday.
But they were well on their way to a third straight victory once Jeremy Menez eased them in front in the seventh minute before Ibrahimovic struck five minutes before half-time.
Blaise Matuide added a third to kill off Bastia with 18 minutes remaining before Ibrahimovic delivered the coup de grace in the final minute.
The Swede insisted the match had not been a stroll in the park, however, as PSG moved onto 12 points from six games.
“It was 4-0 – but not easy,” he said. “People were saying it was easy after we beat Kiev (4-1 in the Champions League) in midweek. But it wasn’t. You still have to go out there and do things on the pitch. We were playing a good team.
“But we got the four goals and I am playing better and better – against Kiev I was a little tired.”
As PSG gather steam, defending champions Montpellier will wish they could find similar form which has proved elusive so far this term.
The southerners were held to a 1-1 draw by Saint Etienne on Friday, bringing an end to a frustrating week where they had suffered two successive defeats.
Beaten 3-1 by promoted Reims seven days ago, and then 2-1 at home to Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday, Montpellier needed a second-half equaliser from veteran Senegalese international striker Souleymane Camara to salvage a point.
In the 69th minute, Anthony Mounier’s cross was cleared but Remy Cabella picked up the loose ball to put Camara through for the goal.
Saint Etienne had gone ahead in the third minute of injury time at the end of the first half when Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed his fourth goal of the season.
Montpellier boss Rene Girard was furious that his team had to play on Friday just 48 hours after the Arsenal game.
“I am not paranoid. I simply say that it’s a question of fairness. We played Arsenal, one of the best sides in Europe; we did not play Pink Floyd of Kiev,” said Girard.
Montpellier are 14th in the table with just five points, already ten off the pace.
Toulouse rescued a point in extraordinary fashion as goalkeeper Ali Ahamada scored a 94th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Rennes.
The away side led twice through Jonathan Pitroipa (eight) and Mevlut Erding (64), with Wissam Ben Yedder having initially equalised on 22 minutes.
But just when an away win seemed certain, Ahamada went forward for a last-gasp free-kick and powered in a header to send the home fans into a frenzy.
Promoted Reims continued their solid start by inflicting a 2-0 defeat on Nancy.
Gaetan Courtet opened the scoring after seven minutes and Diego Rigonato put the game beyond Nancy by converting a penalty on the hour against the run of play to lift the top-flight newcomers to fifth spot.
Troyes’ winless start continued as Sochaux condemned the promoted side to their fourth defeat in six outings following their return to the top flight.
Sebastien Roudet, Thierry Doubai and Cedric Bakambu were on target for Sochaux, who climb out of the relegation zone thanks to the 3-1 win.
Julien Faussurier struck Troyes’ consolation in the first half, but the dismissal of Jean Christophe Bahrebeck for an ugly challenge on Sebastien Corchia in the 56th minute was a setback from which the rock-bottom visitors were unable to recover.
Elsewhere, Brest moved up to eighth after coming from behind to beat 10-man Valenciennes 2-1.
The away side took the lead through Mathieu Dossevi after 10 minutes and it took until the hour mark for Brest to get back on level terms through Jonathan Ayite.
Eden Ben Basat then put Brest in front from the spot after Brazilian defender Gil was sent off for conceding the penalty, while Valenciennes were denied a last-minute equaliser by the post in a thrilling finish.
Ten-man Lorient left it late to secure a 1-1 draw against Nice. The visitors led for much of the match through Camel Meriem’s first-half goal and the dismissal of Gregory Bourillon did little to ease Lorient’s nerves.
But substitute Kevin Monnet-Paquet brought the home crowd to their feet in the final minute with his equaliser.
