Match ends, Paris Saint Germain 3, Lorient 1.
PSGParis Saint Germain3LorientLorient1
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick as Paris St-Germain beat Lorient to go top of Ligue 1.
The Swede scored an early penalty after being fouled by goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte.
PSG dominated and yet missed a host of chances before Jordan Ayew equalised from 20 yards and then had a shot blocked off the line moments later.
But Ibrahimovic scored a second penalty after a foul on Javier Pastore and in injury time swept home his third.
The talismanic striker has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons recently. He was sent off last week against Chelsea in the Champions League, earning himself a one-game ban for their first leg against Barcelona.
And last weekend he was filmed screaming in a foul-mouthed rant where he claimed France "does not deserve" PSG after they lost to Bordeaux. He has a French league hearing on 9 April over that incident.
But it was his night at the Parc des Prince as PSG overtook Lyon, who could go back to the summit on Saturday when they face Nice (15:00 GMT).
With four minutes he opened the scoring with a penalty after he was flattened by keeper Lecomte, who was booked for the challenge.
Ibrahimovic seemed to be injured moments after the goal and needed treatment on the sideline but was fit to continue.
PSG dominated and Ezequiel Lavezzi and Ibrahimovic wasted chances before the controversial forward under-hit a pass to Pastore following a brilliant team move, when the Argentine would have been in on goal.
Moments later he was made to pay when Ayew fired home a crisp effort from outside the box from Benjamin Jeannot's layoff. The Ghanaian could have made it a quick-fire brace but Marco Verratti headed his effort off the line.
It looked like it might not be PSG's day when Pastore and Cavani missed opportunities before an Ibrahimovic backheel was saved.
But they kept going forward and their second breakthrough came with eight minutes left as Lamine Kone lost control of the the ball in the box and fouled Pastore in a bid to win it back. Ibrahimovic made no mistake from the spot.
And right at the end of the game Verratti found him in space to complete his hat-trick with his 17th league goal of the season.
Line-ups
PSG
Formation 4-3-3
- 30Sirigu
- 23Van der Wiel
- 2Thiago Silva
- 8MottaBooked at 57mins
- 17Cabelino Andrade
- 27Pastore
- 24VerrattiBooked at 73mins
- 14Matuidi
- 9Cavani
- 10Ibrahimovic
- 22LavezziSubstituted forRabiotat 65'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Douchez
- 6Camara
- 15Bahebeck
- 21Digne
- 25Rabiot
- 33Augustin
- 35Lacazette
Lorient
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 40LecomteBooked at 3mins
- 25GassamaBooked at 76mins
- 2Koné
- 24Lautoa
- 4Le Goff
- 19PhilippoteauxSubstituted forJouffreat 82'minutes
- 11Ndong
- 6BellugouSubstituted forBrunoat 85'minutes
- 28BarthelmeSubstituted forJeannotat 62'minutes
- 17Mesloub
- 9J Ayew
Substitutes
- 3da Silva Rocha
- 5Mostefa
- 7Diallo
- 8Jouffre
- 22Jeannot
- 30Chaigneau
- 39Bruno
- Referee:
- Tony Chapron
- Attendance:
- 45,705
Match Stats
Home TeamPSGAway TeamLorient
- Possession
- Home63%
- Away37%
- Shots
- Home17
- Away10
- Shots on Target
- Home10
- Away4
- Corners
- Home10
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away12
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Paris Saint Germain 3, Lorient 1.
Goal!
Goal! Paris Saint Germain 3, Lorient 1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Marco Verratti.
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Offside, Paris Saint Germain. Javier Pastore tries a through ball, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic is caught offside.
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Attempt saved. Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint Germain) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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Attempt missed. Lamine Koné (Lorient) header from the right side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Yann Jouffre with a cross following a set piece situation.
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Foul by Adrien Rabiot (Paris Saint Germain).
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Jordan Ayew (Lorient) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Lorient. Gianni Bruno replaces Francois Bellugou.
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Foul by Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain).
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Yann Jouffre (Lorient) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Corner, Paris Saint Germain. Conceded by Didier Ndong.
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Attempt saved. Adrien Rabiot (Paris Saint Germain) left footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marco Verratti with a cross.
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Corner, Paris Saint Germain. Conceded by Lamine Gassama.
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Attempt blocked. Gregory Van der Wiel (Paris Saint Germain) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
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Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Jordan Ayew (Lorient).
Substitution
Substitution, Lorient. Yann Jouffre replaces Romain Philippoteaux.
Goal!
Goal! Paris Saint Germain 2, Lorient 1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
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Penalty Paris Saint Germain. Javier Pastore draws a foul in the penalty area.
