PSG seals French title in record with 鈥業bra鈥 on fire
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FRENCH giant Paris Saint-Germain, inspired by four stunning Zlatan Ibrahimovic goals, turned on the style yesterday to beat Troyes 9-0 and clinch a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 crown in record time.
Just four days after advancing to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, PSG wrapped up the club’s sixth French title with eight games to spare by beating a Troyes side destined for an immediate return to the second tier.
Laurent Blanc’s men obliterated the French record for the quickest league victory, currently held by Lyon which won the 2007 title under Gerard Houllier with five games to go.
Unlike last season when Paris waited until late March to take over top spot, the capital club has set the pace uninterrupted since beating Ajaccio 2-0 in its second game of the campaign.
Three goals in six early first-half minutes — from Edinson Cavani, Xavier Pastore and Adrien Rabiot — settled PSG’s nerves at Troyes’ Stade de l’Aube.
It was then time for Ibrahimovic to take center stage in 10 magical minutes.
The towering forward made it 4-0 just seconds into the second-half after Cavani intercepted another poor clearance, “Ibra” gifted too much space on the edge of the box and making no mistake as he drilled the ball low into the left-hand corner.
Ibrahimovic’s second was a gem, a first-time mid-air volley off an Angel di Maria cross as PSG swamped Troyes.
His third — and 100th in Ligue 1 action — was equally sublime, the 34-year-old Swede meeting a Layvin Kurzawa cross at full speed and unleashing a blinding right-footed shot into the net.
Matthieu Saunier compounded Troyes’ woes with an own goal, while Lossemy Karaboue saw red for hauling Cavani down in the box with 16 minutes to play. Dreyer did well to save Cavani’s penalty, but the striker tapped in the rebound.
It was left to Ibrahimovic to wrap up the 9-0 rout, the striker showing great strength to ride a tackle and unleash a shot after a Pastore through-ball.
The Ligue 1 title was the fourth time Blanc has won it as a manager having also guided Bordeaux to the 2008-09 title.
The gulf in class has never been more apparent since Qatar Sports Investments purchased PSG in the summer of 2011, in what has become a landmark moment in French football.
With a budget of close to 500 million euros (US$558 million), PSG’s ambitions go beyond simply retaining the league title, with the club also through to the League Cup final on April 23 and set to face Lorient four days earlier for a place in the French Cup showpiece as it seeks to defend last year’s historic treble.
However, conquering Europe represents the top priority for a squad assembled at vast expense and how it fares next month will go a long way to determining how successfully its season is portrayed, with PSG due to play the first leg of its Champions League quarterfinal tie on April 5-6 ahead of the return fixture a week later.
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