PSG surge clear again

Paris St Germain maintained their five-point lead over Monaco at the summit with a 5-0 demolition of Nantes.

Paris St Germain maintained their five-point lead over Monaco at the Ligue 1 summit with a 5-0 demolition of Nantes. Thiago Silva put the hosts in front inside 10 minutes and Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty made it 2-0 at the break. Thiago Motta increased the hosts' advantage six minutes into the second half, before Edinson Cavani got in on the act and Ibrahimovic completed his double. PSG wasted no time stamping their authority on the game and the talismanic Thiago Silva gave them an early lead in their first real attack of the game. Ezequiel Lavezzi swung a near-post corner in from the left and, despite Remy Riou parrying Cavani's flick, the Brazilian captain was on hand to emphatically crash home from close range. The hosts continued to dominate as Nantes struggled to make inroads higher up the pitch and the visitors were forced into a change just before the half-hour mark when influential midfielder Jordan Veretout had to be carried off following an innocuous clash with Thiago Silva. And Les Canaris' evening got worse just minutes later when Laurent Blanc's side were awarded a dubious penalty after Marco Verratti went down under a Chaker Alhadhur challenge and referee Amaury Delerue showed no hesitancy in pointing at the spot. Ibrahimovic took charge from 12 yards and, as has been the case five times already this season, took full advantage of the opportunity to send Riou the wrong way. The Parisians could easily have had three inside 45 minutes but Lavezzi volleyed into the side from eight yards after Cavani had chipped him in and the two-goal advantage remained. The one-way traffic showed no signs of letting up as the second half got under way and Ibrahimovic almost doubled his tally when he met Gregory van der Wiel's delivery but the Swede's header was straight at Riou. However, PSG did grab a third on 51 minutes when Blaise Matuidi headed Lucas' deep cross back across the six-yard box and Motta was on hand to blast home from close range. Goals continued to flow for the hosts and Cavani got in on the action when Ibrahimovic dispossessed Papy Djilobodji before rolling the ball into the Uruguayan's path for the simplest of finishes. Blanc introduced Javier Pastore on 64 minutes and the Argentinian was heavily involved moments later when he and Matuidi combined before Ibrahimovic latched onto a loose ball inside the area to crash the ball beyond Riou.