A hat-trick from Edinson Cavani propelled Paris Saint-Germain to a comprehensive 6-0 win against En Avant de Guingamp on Friday that allowed them to close in on a third consecutive Ligue 1 title.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with a brace, and Maxwell were also on target as PSG made it seven straight league wins and moved six points clear of nearest rivals Olympique Lyonnais before their match at Stade Malherbe Caen Calvados yesterday.
The form of Cavani and the return from suspension of his strike partner Ibrahimovic have both been key for the capital club, and they now have 58 goals between them in all competitions this season.
Photo: AFP
Cavani in particular has looked like a different player in the last month and his first hat-trick in French football means he has now scored 10 times in six matches in domestic competition.
“He has been getting lots of chances, and he is now playing with more confidence. He is a goal-scorer, and he is now playing with a bit more spontaneity. This is the Cavani I like and who gives us pleasure,” Blanc said.
“We played very well and continued what we have been doing over the last six or seven matches. I am not looking any further. We will appreciate this victory and the fact we are top. There are lots of positives tonight. I am very proud of the players,” he added.
Photo: EPA
The Uruguayan Cavani set the ball rolling by diverting in a low Serge Aurier cross from the right with less than two minutes on the clock and fans still arriving at the Parc des Princes on a sunny national holiday evening in Paris.
Claudio Beauvue, whose outstanding season has made him a target for clubs in England and elsewhere, almost caught out Salvatore Sirigu with a swerving free-kick from 40 meters out, but the visitors offered next to nothing in open play and fell further behind on 18 minutes.
Marco Verratti exchanged passes with Cavani and teed up Ibrahimovic, who took his time before firing into the roof of the net.
Ibrahimovic was then happy to play the role of provider as Paris ran away with the game in the second half, first setting up Cavani for a great finish to make it 3-0 shortly after half-time.
Maxwell then arrived at the back post to head in after a cheeky chip to the back post by Ibrahimovic, and Cavani’s hat-trick goal came following a quick Verratti free-kick.
There was still time for Ibrahimovic to get his 30th of the campaign from the penalty spot at the death after he had been brought down inside the area, as Paris recorded their biggest league win since the Qatari takeover that revolutionized the club in 2011.
Guingamp coach Jocelyn Gourvennec admitted his side had been “naive,” but added: “It was a game between a great team and an average Ligue 1 team, which we are.”
BUNDESLIGA
Hamburg SV’s Gojko Kacar was their hero for the second straight week, scoring a last-gasp equalizer to salvage a 1-1 draw against dominant SC Freiburg on Friday and keep alive their hopes of staying up.
The 28-year-old midfielder threw Hamburg a lifeline, heading in on the rebound after goalkeeper Roman Buerki failed to hold on to the ball in the 90th minute.
Admir Mehmedi had fired the visitors into the lead in the 25th minute, with Hamburg toothless for most of the match.
Freiburg should have finished off the game much earlier with Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler repeatedly coming to the rescue.
The former European champions scored with their only chance in the second half after Rafael van der Vaart floated in a corner to stay in 14th place on 32 points, one above Freiburg and SC Paderborn 07, who occupy the relegation playoff spot.
LA LIGA
Sergio Garcia and Christian Stuani scored to give RCD Espanyol a 2-0 win at Sociedad Deportiva Eibar on Friday, dealing the Basque hosts a blow in their attempt to stay in Spain’s topflight for a second season.
Espanyol provisionally rose into seventh place as they try to secure a UEFA Europa League berth, while promoted Eibar were left one point above the relegation zone before the rest of the round’s matches.
Espanyol coach Sergio Gonzalez changed his usual lineup and aligned Garcia, Stuani and Felipe Caicedo together. The decision paid off with all three strikers contributing to both goals.
Garcia netted from a tight angle after both strike partners had gone close in the 29th minute.
Stuani then stabbed in Espanyol’s second on the hour mark after Garcia crossed for Caicedo.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but