PSG six points clear behind Cavani hat-trick, Ibrahimovic brace

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:17 am
Edinson Cavani's hat-trick was a big boost toward PSG retaining their Ligue 1 title.
AP Photo/Thibault Camus

Paris St. Germain took a giant leap towards retaining their Ligue 1 title by thrashing Guingamp 6-0 at the Parc des Princes.

Edinson Cavani stole the show with a hat-trick while Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagged a brace and Maxwell chipped in with a second-half goal.

The capital club are now six points clear of second-placed Lyon, who have three games remaining, meaning defeat at Caen on Saturday could effectively hand the championship to PSG.

Paris wasted no time in breaking the deadlock on two minutes.

Serge Aurier found space out on the right and his cross found Cavani, who prodded beyond Jonas Lossl from close range after a perfectly-timed run.

Guingamp had not come to lie down, and Claude Beauvue gave the hosts a gentle reminder to be on their guard when his stunning 45-yard free-kick forced Salvatore Sirigu to tip over his own crossbar at full stretch.

Jeremy Sorbon headed straight at Sirigu from the resulting corner but it was not long before Laurent Blanc's men were giving the visitors a lesson in finishing.

Following some superb work from Marco Verratti, winning the ball outside the Guingamp area, he picked out Ibrahimovic who took his marker out of the play with a fine touch before powering a second goal beyond Lossl from 12 yards.

And the current champions almost added a third soon after when Yohan Cabaye and Blaise Matuidi combined well to tee up Javier Pastore, but his effort was turned away by a combination of Lossl and the left post.

Rested and watered, PSG wasted no time in adding to their tally shortly after the break when, with 52 minutes on the clock, Ibrahimovic played in Cavani and the Uruguay striker emphatically fired across Lossl to seemingly put an end to any possibility of a Guingamp come back.

Smelling blood, the hosts did not let up, and just a few minutes later they added a fourth through the unlikely source of Maxwell when the Brazilian defender met Ibrahimovic's superb flick to head beyond Lossl at the back post.

And Guingamp's misery was compounded with 20 minutes still left to play when Cavani sealed his hat-trick in fine style, steering Verratti's quickly-taken free-kick beyond Lossl with a first-time volley.

There was still time for a sixth PSG goal when Ibrahimovic added his second from the penalty spot in added time to wrap up a successful evening for Blanc's team.