Saturday, April 22, 2017

Paris Saint-Germain 2 Montpellier 0: Cavani and Di Maria send Emery's men top

Edinson Cavani's 31st Ligue 1 goal of the season helped PSG to beat Montpellier 2-0 and move above Monaco into top spot.

Paris Saint-Germain moved above Monaco into top spot in Ligue 1 after beating Montpellier 2-0 at the Parc des Princes on Saturday.

A point would have been enough to see the champions leapfrog Leonardo Jardim's men, but PSG cruised to a comfortable victory to boost their title chances and pile pressure on Monaco.

Edinson Cavani gave PSG the lead midway through the first half, turning home Blaise Matuidi's low left-wing cross.

The Uruguayan's 31st league goal of the season ensured he has now scored against all 27 teams he has faced in Ligue 1.

And the points were made safe shortly after the interval when Angel Di Maria bent a lovely finish around Hilton and into the bottom corner to secure an eighth straight league win for PSG.

Monaco have the chance to reclaim top spot when they travel to Lyon on Sunday, but with the hosts fourth in the table it will be a tricky test for the Champions League semi-finalists.
A cagey opening saw both sides holding back and the first shot took 16 minutes to arrive, with Di Maria's long-range effort comfortable for Laurent Pionnier.

The Argentine then delivered a deft left-wing cross for Cavani to head home, but the striker was offside and the assistant's raised flag cut his celebrations short.
Matuidi scored a brace in PSG's dramatic 3-2 win at Metz last time out and the midfielder was denied by Pionnier after being played in by Marco Verratti.

Thiago Motta hit the post with a deflected effort from a corner as PSG continued to press and the opening goal finally arrived after 29 minutes
Maxwell and Di Maria combined to free Matuidi in the left channel and his low cutback was tucked away by Cavani with ease.

Montpellier almost responded immediately when Ellyes Skhiri's looping header came back off the crossbar with Kevin Trapp beaten, then Isaac Mbenza blazed over after pinball in the PSG box.

That miss cost Montpellier as PSG doubled their lead three minutes into the second half.

Matuidi won possession back deep in the visitors' half and after Cavani's backheel freed Di Maria, his curling shot from 25 yards left Pionnier helpless.
Trapp had to save well from Paul Lasne's low drive as the visitors - who beat PSG at home earlier in the season - continued to create chances.

Hilton cleared a Di Maria effort off the line after 61 minutes and Ryad Boudebouz almost scored a sensational solo effort, only for his drive to flash narrowly over the angle.

Pionnier blocked a Cavani effort with his legs, Di Maria fired wide and Serge Aurier headed over the crossbar as PSG sought to extend their advantage, but a 2-0 win proved enough for Unai Emery's men to claim top spot.
Key Opta stats:

- PSG have lost only one of their last 14 league games against Montpellier (W6 D7), it was in December 2016 (0-3).
- Montpellier have won just two of their last 18 away Ligue 1 games (D4 L12), against Nancy (3-0) in February 2017 & Caen (2-0) in April 2017.
- Cavani has scored 44 goals in 44 games in all competitions with PSG this season, only Lionel Messi (45) has scored more in the top five European leagues.
- Di Maria has been involved in 17 goals in 18 games in all competitions with PSG in 2017 (11 goals, 6 assists).

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