Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Troyes Ligue 1 Match Report

Zlatan Ibrahimovic underlined his importance to Paris Saint-Germain by returning from suspension to lead his side to a comprehensive 4-0 win over Troyes at Parc des Princes.

The home side rode out a tricky period before the break to emerge comfortable victors and their talismanic Swedish forward stole the show by setting up the first two goals before collecting two of his own to pass a career landmark of 200 league goals.

PSG almost opened the scoring in bizarre circumstances in the early stages. A through-ball from Ibrahimovic sent Ezequiel Lavezzi though and the Argentine's cut-back was smashed against Blaise Matuidi by defender Maxime Colin, as the latter tried to clear.

The ball ricocheted towards goal and almost caught Yohann Thuram-Ulien off-guard in the Troyes goal, the Frenchman doing well to react and tip the ball over.

Seconds later, Ibrahimovic was played in by Veratti but the striker was almost too casual in his approach and Thuram-Ulien got down well to smother his tame effort.

The former AC Milan man then announced his return in fine style by setting up the opening goal. Ibrahimovic danced round the challenge of Rincon, after being played down the channel by Gregory van der Wiel, and his cut-back was deflected into the path of Maxwell, who slid home from just outside the six-yard box.

Troyes heads didn’t drop, however, and the visitors began to suppress PSG’s dominance. Their first chance fell to captain Mourir Obbadi, who let fly from 25-yards out but the midfielder dragged his shot wide of Sirigu’s right-hand post.

PSG should have doubled their lead on 32 minutes but neither Lavezzi nor Ibrahimovic could capitalise on good opportunities. The Argentine was first to try his luck, but his header from Sylvain Armand’s inviting cross was straight at Thuram-Ulien and his team-mate could only back-heel the rebound wide.

Troyes continued to cause their hosts problems before the break and Fabien Camus was next to try his luck, his effort deflected beyond the reach of Sirigu but landing just over the crossbar.

The home side weren’t helping their own cause and Matuidi was caught in possession on the edge of his own area. The former Saint-Etienne man was given a reprieve, however, as Jean-Christophe Bahebeck could only scuff his effort into the ground, creating a simple stop for the PSG goalkeeper.

Bahebeck is currently on loan at Troyes from PSG and moments later the 19-year old was at the centre of the action again as he was brought down in the area by Marco Verratti. Despite the Italian’s lack off contact with the ball, however, referee Bartolomeu Varela waved away all protests from the visitors and the hosts survived.

The Parc des Princes booed off their team at half-time and Troyes continued to be the more threatening side after the break.

Benjamin Nivet had Sirigu sprawling across his goalmouth when he cut inside from the edge of the area and fired just wide, while passing in the final third let down the Ligue 1 strugglers on a number of occasions.

The visitors were made to pay for their profligacy as Paris Saint-Germain broke down the field to double their lead, once again laid on by their superstar striker.

This time Ibrahimovic surged forward down the left flank and threaded through Matuidi, who struck the ball first-time beyond Thuram-Ulien and into the Troyes goal via the right-hand post.

Zlatan wasn’t finished either and he grabbed his 200th league goal after 70 minutes. Nene, on as a substitute for Javier Pastore at the break, fed through PSG’s talisman who smashed home a ferocious effort which crashed home off the underside of the crossbar.

There was still time for the home side to add a fourth, Ibrahimovic tapping home from Lavezzi's cross in the 89th minute to compound the visitors' misery.

The win sends Paris Saint-Germain to the top of Ligue 1 after 14 matches, while and sees them end their domestic winless streak after two defeats and a draw in their previous matches. Meanwhile, Troyes still sit in 19th position, six points adrift of safety.

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Source: Goal