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ESPNsoccernet: null | |
Paris St. Germain's resurgence continued Saturday as the big-spending capital club swept aside Bastia 4-0 in a one-sided encounter at Stade Armand Cesari.
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After opening the Ligue 1 season with three straight draws, PSG has now won three straight to muscle its way into the top three.
A brace by Zlatan Ibrahimovic allied to efforts by Jeremy Menez and Blaise Matuidi secured all the points for Carlo Ancelotti's men, as promoted Bastia slipped to its fourth league defeat on the trot.
Bastia has failed to score in its past three defeats while conceding 10 goals, and the back-to-back wins that opened its campaign last month must seem a distant memory for coach Frederic Hantz.
Just six minutes were on the clock when PSG opened the floodgates Saturday, with Nene's free kick coming through to Ibrahimovic, who teed up Menez to apply the finish.
Wahbi Khazri twice went close for the hosts in the first half but was denied on both occasions by Salvatore Sirigu, with the goalkeeper first turning away a stinging low drive and then keeping out a free kick.
In between those chances PSG went close to doubling its lead when Ibrahimovic nodded down for Matuidi, but the midfielder's first-time effort flew over the crossbar.
The second goal arrived five minutes before the interval, Marco Verrati's superb pass picking out Ibrahimovic, who took a touch before dispatching a clinical finish to register his sixth goal of the season.
Jeremy Choplin flashed a header wide for the hosts on 62 minutes as Bastia briefly threatened, but the visitors killed the game off in the 72nd minute when Nene sprung the offside trap with a through-ball for Matuidi, who calmly slotted home.
Sirigu preserved his clean sheet by turning away a Khazri free-kick in the 85th minute, leaving Ibrahimovic to wrap up the scoring in injury time with a composed finish after another telling pass by the influential Nene.