Ibra nets hat-trick in PSG win

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick as PSG ensured they will remain top of Ligue 1 following a 3-1 win over Nice.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain ensured they will end the weekend at the top of Ligue 1 following a 3-1 win over Nice. The Sweden international opened the scoring six minutes before the break and doubled the lead with a penalty early in the second half. Nemanja Pejcinovic reduced the deficit with 20 minutes to go but Ibrahimovic got his third shortly afterwards to seal the win. The champions could have been ahead after just six minutes as Maxwell made a strong run down the left and provided a cross which was dipping under the bar, forcing Luca Veronese into a smart save. Ibrahimovic nearly had a spectacular goal on the half hour when he met Javier Pastore's cross with a backheel but Veronese was alert and made a smart reflex save. The former Juventus striker had his goal just nine minutes later, though, as he met Gregory Van der Wiel's cross at the back post and fired home. The lead was doubled 12 minutes after the restart with Veronese bringing down Edinson Cavani in the penalty area. Ibrahimovic stepped up to take the spot-kick and sent the keeper the wrong way with a firm finish. But Nice were not going to roll over and when Alex failed to properly clear Valentin Eysseric's corner, Gregoire Puel found Pejcinovic who slotted the ball into an unguarded net. Any hopes of a comeback were soon thwarted when Ibrahimovic recorded his hat-trick in spectacular style. Lucas beat Timothee Kolodziejczak down the right flank and crossed for Ibrahimovic to head home from the edge of the penalty area past the despairing dive of Veronese.