Match ends, Paris Saint Germain 2, St Etienne 0.
PSGParis Saint Germain2Saint-ÉtienneSaint-Étienne0
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
Formation 4-3-3
- 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
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 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
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Paris Saint Germain 2, St Etienne 0.
Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Post update
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.
Post update
Maxwell (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Yohan Mollo (St Etienne).
Post update
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.
Post update
Corner, St Etienne. Conceded by Salvatore Sirigu.
Post update
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.
Post update
Attempt missed. Mevlut Erding (St Etienne) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Benoît Trémoulinas with a cross.
Post update
Offside, St Etienne. Yohan Mollo tries a through ball, but Benoît Trémoulinas is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt missed. Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint Germain) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Maxwell.
Post update
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.
Post update
Thiago Motta (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Loic Perrin (St Etienne).
Post update
Foul by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain).
Post update
Loic Perrin (St Etienne) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
