Paris - Arabstoday
A brace from in-form striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic propelled Paris Saint-Germain to a 4-0 win over newly-promoted Troyes as they provisionally returned to the top of Ligue 1. Maxwell netted a first-half opener for PSG, while two second-half strikes from Ibrahimovic and a goal from Blaise Matuidi snapped their domestic two-match losing streak in the French capital, sending Carlo Ancelotti\'s side one point clear of Saint-Etienne and Lyon at the summit. Meanwhile, an eighth defeat of the season for Troyes leaves Jean-Marc Furlan\'s men languishing in 19th. Ibrahimovic returned after serving a two-match suspension, with the inclusion of Sylvain Armand and Javier Pastore the only changes from Wednesday\'s 2-0 win at Dynamo Kyiv that secured PSG\'s progression to the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. Troyes goalkeeper Yohann Thuram displayed quick reflexes to turn over an early effort from Matuidi, while the usually lethal Ibrahimovic shot tamely at Thuram after he was played through by Marco Verratti. The home side eventually drew first blood on 17 minutes as Ibrahimovic advanced down the byline after escaping Rincon before crossing low for Maxwell to steer home. Ezequiel Lavezzi then tested Thuram with a header, while Troyes\' Fabien Camus saw his deflected strike land on the roof of the net. Zlatan bags a brace On-loan striker Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, playing against his parent club, drew a low save out of Salvatore Sirigu and was unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty just before half-time after he was sent sprawling by Verratti. The Italian midfielder - already on a yellow card - clattered through the back of Bahebeck, but replays indicated that Verratti got a faint touch on the ball as referee Bartolomeu Varela waved away appeals. PSG capitalised on that let-off as Matuidi doubled the hosts\' advantage on 63 minutes with an adroit finish after Ibrahimovic had slipped the ball into the path of the French midfielder. The talismanic Swede then got on the scoresheet himself, drilling a fierce left-footed strike past Thuram via the underside of the crossbar seven minutes later before tapping home a Lavezzi cross for his league-leading 12th goal of the campaign a minute from the end to complete the rout. From FIFA