Caen 0 - 3 Paris Saint Germain: Zlatan Ibrahimovic sends home stunning strike as Paris St Germain extend lead

Posted Sunday, December 20, 2015 by PA

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's stunning strike helped PSG make it five straight wins in all competitions with a comfortable 3-0 victory at fourth-placed Caen.

Angel Di Maria's 16th-minute opener, followed by a Ibrahimovic's first-time volley from the edge of the area, handed the current champions a commanding lead at the break.

Di Maria added his second early - and PSG's third - in the second-half and that proved enough to extend his side's lead to 20 points at the top of Ligue 1, for a couple of hours at least.

Laurent Blanc's side got off to the perfect start when the hosts' defence failed to clear their lines properly from Serge Aurier's delivery and Di Maria pounced to fire a clinical finish beyond Remy Vercoutre.

And it probably should have got better for the visitors' at the 25-minute mark but somehow a combination of the impressive Vercoutre, the woodwork and a large slice of fortune prevented both Ibrahimovic and Lucas from doubling PSG's advantage.

Vercoutre continued to thwart PSG's attack and, for the third time in the opening half hour, he made a superb stop to deny Thiago Silva with a header before Caen's first-choice stopper denied Lucas with a drive from outside the area.

However, the hosts' keeper was beaten for a second time on 36 minutes, when a defensive clearance fell for Ibrahimovic and sent an unstoppable 20-yard volley into the top corner, beyond a helpless Vercoutre.

The break did little to stem the champions' flow and Di Maria grabbed his second of the game, and his first brace for PSG, just five minutes after the restart when he latched onto Lucas' nod down to cleverly loop the ball over Vercoutre.

Caen had an opportunity for a consolation in the final 10 minutes when Thiago Silva barged Andy Delort over in the area but, after dusting himself down, Delort saw his spot-kick well saved by Kevin Trapp.