Match ends, Paris Saint Germain 2, St Etienne 0.
Paris St-Germain 2-0 St Etienne
- From the section European Football
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first-half brace kept defending champions Paris St-Germain eight points clear of Monaco at the top of the French league.
PSG dominated the first half against fourth-placed St Etienne and deservedly led when Ibrahimovic calmly rolled in from close range.
The Sweden captain doubled the lead by delicately prodding in Edinson Cavani's cross with the outside of his boot.
St Etienne rallied after the break but could not beat PSG's Salvatore Sirigu.
The goalkeeper acrobatically stopped St Etienne substitute Melvut Erding halving the deficit midway through the second half, while Benjamin Corgnet thumped another chance into the side-netting for the visitors.
But PSG reasserted themselves and finished strongly as they stretched their unbeaten Ligue 1 run to 13 matches.
Ibrahimovic's double takes to his Ligue 1 tally to 25 goals in 28 games this season, while he has now scored 41 times in all competitions.
Earlier, nearest rivals Monaco had briefly cut the gap to five points with a 3-2 win at Lyon.
Former Manchester United and Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov scored one goal and set up the other two for Claudio Ranieri's side.
Line-ups
PSG
- 30Sirigu
- 26Jallet
- 17Cabelino Andrade
- 8Motta
- 13da Dias Costa
- 2Thiago Silva
- 4CabayeBooked at 58minsSubstituted forVerrattiat 64'minutes
- 14Matuidi
- 10Ibrahimovic
- 9Cavani
- 22LavezziSubstituted forLucas Mouraat 64'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Douchez
- 5Marquinhos
- 7Menez
- 21Digne
- 24Verratti
- 27Pastore
- 29Lucas Moura
Saint-Étienne
- 16Ruffier
- 4Zouma
- 2Trémoulinas
- 6ClémentSubstituted forLemoineat 69'minutes
- 26Sall
- 24PerrinBooked at 85mins
- 11MolloBooked at 90mins
- 15Guilavogui
- 9Lemos da SilvaBooked at 23mins
- 8CorgnetSubstituted forHamoumaat 80'minutes
- 27TabanouSubstituted forErdingat 57'minutes
Substitutes
- 10Cohade
- 18Lemoine
- 19Erding
- 20Brison
- 21Hamouma
- 29Clerc
- 30Moulin
- Referee:
- Lionel Jaffredo
- Attendance:
- 45,614
Match Stats
Home TeamPSGAway TeamSaint-Étienne
- Possession
- Home55%
- Away45%
- Shots
- Home15
- Away14
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away6
- Corners
- Home4
- Away6
- Fouls
- Home14
- Away18
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Paris Saint Germain 2, St Etienne 0.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Maxwell (Paris Saint Germain) because of an injury.
Booking
Yohan Mollo (St Etienne) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Maxwell (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Yohan Mollo (St Etienne).
Attempt missed. Josuha Guilavogui (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Yohan Mollo with a cross following a corner.
Corner, St Etienne. Conceded by Salvatore Sirigu.
Attempt saved. Romain Hamouma (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Josuha Guilavogui.
Attempt missed. Mevlut Erding (St Etienne) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Benoît Trémoulinas with a cross.
Offside, St Etienne. Yohan Mollo tries a through ball, but Benoît Trémoulinas is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint Germain) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Maxwell.
Attempt saved. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Booking
Loic Perrin (St Etienne) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Thiago Motta (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Loic Perrin (St Etienne).
Foul by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain).
Loic Perrin (St Etienne) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Brandão (St Etienne).
Substitution
Substitution, St Etienne. Romain Hamouma replaces Benjamin Corgnet.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain) because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Fabien Lemoine (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Yohan Mollo.
Attempt blocked. Josuha Guilavogui (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Yohan Mollo.
Attempt missed. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right from a direct free kick.
Lucas Moura (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Loic Perrin (St Etienne).
Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Brandão (St Etienne).
Substitution
Substitution, St Etienne. Fabien Lemoine replaces Jérémy Clément.
Foul by Christophe Jallet (Paris Saint Germain).
Yohan Mollo (St Etienne) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Hand ball by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain).
Corner, St Etienne. Conceded by Thiago Motta.
Corner, St Etienne. Conceded by Salvatore Sirigu.
Attempt saved. Yohan Mollo (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt missed. Lucas Moura (Paris Saint Germain) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Christophe Jallet with a cross.
Substitution
Substitution, Paris Saint Germain. Marco Verratti replaces Yohan Cabaye because of an injury.