Paris Saint-Germain, fresh from drawing Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals, maintained their march to a defence of their Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 win over spirited Lorient on Friday.
|Last Updated: Mar 22, 2014, 05:40 AM IST|Source: Bureau
Paris: Paris Saint-Germain, fresh from drawing Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals, maintained their march to a defence of their Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 win over spirited Lorient on Friday.
Thiago Motta`s first half goal was all that split the two teams with the valiant mid-table hosts giving Laurent Blanc`s side plenty of nervy moments in Brittany.
The hard fought win on Lorient`s artificial pitch at their Stade du Moustoir extended PSG`s crushing lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 11 points, with second-placed Monaco in action on Sunday against third-placed Lille.
For PSG, who prevailed despite not being at the top of their game, this success was their sixth in a row in Ligue 1 and their eighth on the trot in all competitions.
The one sore point for Blanc was the injury suffered by captain Thiago Silva, who had to come off early on in the first half.
Blanc elected to field Brazilian Marquinhos in place of his compatriot Alex in central defence, with Marco Verratti regaining his place in midfield from Yohan Cabaye after a two-game absence.
Christophe Jallet came in for the injured right back Gregory Van der Wiel against his former club.
On the right Blanc preferred Ezequiel Lavezzi to Lucas.
Lorient kept the champions-in-waiting at bay until the 41st minute, when in a move inspired by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Motta broke the deadlock.
Ibrahimovic conjured up an exquisite back-heeled flick of the ball to Edinson Cavani down the left, with the Uruguayan returning the favour for the Swede to attempt a close range angled shot.
The star striker`s attempt was denied by Lorient keeper Fabien Audard but Motta was on hand to pounce on the loose ball, the Brazilian-born Italian only having to nudge it over Audard`s goal line.
Ibrahimovic by this point was wearing the captain`s armband having inherited it from Silva, who was forced to come off in the 24th minute after receiving an accidental knock in the face from Vincent Aboubakar`s elbow in an airborne duel.
Alex came on in his fellow Brazilian`s place.
PSG enjoyed almost three quarters of the possession in the first half and would have been relieved to have reaped the one goal reward.
Lorient emerged for the restart with fire in their bellies, and Jerome Aliadiere should have done better when blazing his effort high over the PSG cross bar.
On the hour, Verratti ceded his place to Cabaye, as Lorient`s Aliadiere paid for his lack of precision shooting, making way for Sadio Diallo.
Only Audard`s reflex action and a large slice of luck kept out Jallet`s tight-angled shot on the right from doubling PSG`s lead with quarter of an hour remaining.
PSG held on despite a couple of late scares, notably when midfielder Bryan Pele had the ball in the back of the PSG net only for his effort to be deemed offside.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.