Zlatan Ibrahimovic and substitute Edinson Cavani both scored twice on Saturday as Paris Saint-Germain won their first trophy of the season by retaining the Coupe de la Ligue with a 4-0 win over 10-man SC Bastia.
Ibrahimovic, who missed last season’s final through injury, opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Sebastien Squillaci was sent off, and doubled the lead just before half-time. Cavani added more luster to the win in the closing stages of the match with a fine header and a cool finish at the end of a counterattack.
PSG are chasing an unprecedented quadruple, as Laurent Blanc’s side also made it to the Coupe de France final and lead the Ligue 1 standings. However, they will be without Ibrahimovic next week against Barcelona in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and the Sweden striker will miss also miss four matches of the domestic season after receiving another ban for criticizing a referee.
Photo: EPA
“We are ready for Barcelona,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said.
Ibrahimovic has been in tremendous form recently, scoring a hat-trick in the 4-1 win over AS Saint-Etienne in the Coupe de France semi-finals last week and bagging 13 goals in his last seven appearances for club and country.
Once again, he was the man-of-the-match at the Stade de France.
With David Luiz and Thiago Motta both out with injuries, Serge Aurier returned to the PSG defense and Adrien Rabiot was given a starting role in midfield. In a tight start to the game, PSG created the first chance in the fourth minute when Ibrahimovic collected a long pass in the box following a free-kick from Ezequiel Lavezzi, but the tall Swede was flagged offside.
PSG had a penalty claim turn down soon after when Gael Danic touched the ball with his right arm inside the box. However, referee Benoit Bastien pointed to the spot in the 20th minute after Squillaci brought Ezequiel Lavezzi down, with the former Arsenal player receiving a straight red card for his foul.
Second on PSG’s all-time top goalscorers list behind Pedro Pauleta with 104 goals, Ibrahimovic made no mistake from the spot, sending goalkeeper Alphonse Areola the wrong way with a shot in the top left corner.
Squillaci’s red card forced Bastia coach Ghislain Printant to change his strategy, with Mathieu Peybernes coming on for Danic. The move did not make a big difference as PSG took complete control of the match and overwhelmed Bastia in midfield.
Pegged back in their own half, Bastia fought back PSG’s relentless attacks for 20 minutes, but a poor headed clearance from Peybernes fell into Ibrahimovic’s path, with the Swede chesting down the ball before unleashing a low shot at the near post to double the lead.
PSG continued to apply pressure after the interval and went close in the 48th minute when Pastore saw his angled shot end just wide at the far post.
PSG goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez enjoyed a quiet evening and Florian Marange failed to convert Bastia’s first opportunity in the 56th minute, sending his header just wide.
Bastia tried everything in the closing stages of the game, but lacked a cutting edge and were caught on the break when Cavani struck a perfect header at the far post from Aurier’s cross to make it 3-0 with 10 minutes remaining.
Another PSG counterattack brought another goal in added time, with Cavani curling a shot past Areola from Ibrahimovic’s assist, PSG claiming their fifth Coupe de la Ligue.
“The match was over after 20 minutes following the penalty and the sending off,” Marange said. “We knew the referee would not make us any gift.”
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS