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PSG trounce Saint-Etienne 5-0 with Ibrahimovic hat trick

Paris Saint-Germain moved into second place in the French league on Sunday by drubbing Saint-Etienne 5-0 at home.

Kenzo Tribouillard, AFP | Paris Saint-Germain's striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates after scoring a goal.
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Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored three times in what was his first game back from injury, restoring the confidence the defending champion PSG had so far been lacking.

“It's normal when you add a very good player that you play better,” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc. “We are therefore better with him, his presence is important.”

PSG looked uninspired without their star striker, who was out with a left oblique muscle injury, failing to score and drawing against Evian the previous weekend.

Start of a ‘long season’

The hosts took the lead in the 24th minute with an own goal from Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier, who missed his first touch while taking a back pass from Jeremy Clement.

Ibrahimovic made it 2-0 by heading home a cross from PSG leftback Maxwell in the 41st and then intercepted a back pass from Kevin Monnet-Paquet to dribble past Ruffier for a 3-0 lead in the 62nd.

Edinson Cavani made it 4-0 a minute later with a curling shot from 25 yards before Ibrahimovic beat the offside trap to slip the ball past Ruffier in the 72nd.

“It’s an important result because we need to get points and the season is very long,” PSG winger Lucas Moura told BeIn Sports television.

PSG has eight points from its first four games, trailing leader Bordeaux by two points.

Bordeaux draws

Bordeaux dropped its first points this season by drawing with Bastia 1-1, while Lyon lost 2-1 to promoted Metz for a third straight defeat in the league.

At Parc des Princes, PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu kept a clean sheet by tipping a volley from Mevlut Erding over the bar in the 35th and parrying a powerful strike from Max-Alain Gradel in the 83rd.

Saint-Etienne attempted to trouble PSG by using a 3-5-2 system. But the visitors seemed too weary after winning a penalty shootout in the Europa League playoffs on Thursday.

“In some plays, we rediscovered the PSG that I like,” Blanc told Canal Plus television. “We knew Saint-Etienne wanted to block us in midfield. We therefore knew the flanks would be important and we used them well tonight."

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP)

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