Recap: PSG Demolish ASSE At The Parc Des Princes

When Ligue 1 fans were beginning to wonder what happened to the French titans, they came back out to play. Yesterday at the Parc Des Princes, Paris St Germain ruled out any chance of AS Saint Etienne’s superb form with a 5-0 win. Les Verts had come into this match with an impressive first 3 games, most notably their 3-0 win against Stade Reims, where Paris were coming off a lackluster start to their season and a 0-0 draw against Evian. This was Paris’ biggest ever win against the eastern side.

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Under no pressure what so ever, Paris’ form that Europe is so used to seeing shined with the fluidity of the team, the pace and the overall precision of the clubs performance being on point. Luck was not on the side of Christophe Galtier and his men when French international goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier opened scoring for PSG by way of own goal.

Challenging for the ball against Zlatan Ibrahimovic, former PSG midfielder Jeremy Clement sent a back pass to Ruffier where he lost control and accidentally tapped it into his own net. A nightmare opened up after that first goal. The class act that is Zlatan ran over to the deflated goalkeeper and shook his hand. Regardless, it was surely a night Stephane Ruffier will want to forget

The scoring did not stop there as the incredible Zlatan looked at full health in the 41st minute where he scored a laser beam header right into the back of the net to put the score at 2-0. On ward the defensive errors of ASSE were truly clear, or one could say that it was just Zlatan finding the open spaces as he landed a hattrick last night. The unfortunate turn of the events saw ASSE struggle to not only keep possession but also create chances in front of the box. The only real chance the club had against Paris was with in form Turkish striker Mevlüt Erdinç twisting his body to smack the ball into Salvatore Sirigu’s arms in the early stages of the first half.

Edison Cavani also added to his Ligue 1 score tally with a beautiful finish into the bottom corner of the back of Ruffier’s net in the 63′ minute. It put Paris 4-0 with 2 goals in 2 minutes. The night was surely over for Les Verts who really only showed their second wind in the last 10 minutes. Christophe Galtier’s men pushed Les Bleus into some awkward positions, but nothing that put the Parisians in a threatening state. By then the score line stood at 5-0 and any goal would have purely been for dignity. Paris passed the ball lazily to waste time and to fans and commentators alike, the match was over. Prior to the match ASSE stood 3 points back of 2nd place Bordeaux at 3rd place, and Paris stood at 12th. After the match Paris now stand 2 points behind 1st place Bordeaux and ASSE sit at 8th.

Oh how things can change.

What we learned:

PSG’s injury nightmare wasn’t as bad as suspected as fans saw Zlatan play most of the match and Gregory Van Der Wiel come on in the second half. Something should be said in terms of Ibra`s presence though. He absolutely takes the squad to another level mentally. He is the kind of player that he described Zidine Zidane as “When Zidane stepped onto the pitch, the 10 other guys just got suddenly better. It is that simple.” I believe that if he wasn’t present the score line wouldn`t gone the distance; his finishing is impeccable.

Also with the absence of Thiago Silva, youngster Marquinho`s is surely utilizing his starting time by partnering up with David Luiz in the centre. He is still not at the level that his mature counter part is at, but this allows him to gain that experience. It is surely a win for him. Another player who should be noted for his progressively good performances is Javier Pastore. A man under tons of scurtiny last season is coming into he well-known elusive form again. He is sure to continue this path it seems.

Overall, the win is a prize for fans who have waited 4 weeks to see their squad act their worth. It surely was.

Revons Plus Grand!