PARIS: Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled the strings as Paris Saint Germain cruised into the French Cup semi-finals on Wednesday with a 3-1 away win at Saint Etienne.
The result saw PSG bounce back from their first domestic defeat in a year, a 2-1 league loss at Lyon at the weekend, with goals from Edinson Cavani, Marquinhos and late substitute Lucas.
Ahead of their crucial Champions League return match at Chelsea next week however key midfielder Blaise Matuidi limped off with a thigh injury in the second half.
Paris coach Laurent Blanc had told his players their weekend performance was not good enough and had demanded application, which he seemed happy with afterwards.
“It’s difficult to win here. But really it’s rare you see a team win so easily at Saint Etienne,” he told French television.
“PSG warranted their win. It’s an experienced side, and even if they went missing at Lyon they showed up and did a job tonight.”
Ibrahimovic carved open the home defence for the opener on 12 minutes with a perfectly weighted pass which his Uruguayan strike partner Cavani ran onto and smacked home with great relish.
The giant Swede was at the heart of the second goal on 35 minutes too when Marquinhos tapped in at the far post after a fine team move, as a vicious cross from Ibrahimovic was flicked on toward the back post by Cavani.
