Paris Saint-Germain rounded off their Ligue 1 campaign with a 3-1 win at Lorient on Sunday thanks to a double from Kevin Gameiro.
Ex-Lorient man Gameiro scored twice in a superb second-half performance from Carlo Ancelotti’s side to seal the points after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had given them the lead.
Lorient handed the retiring Ludovic Giuly a start on his final game, the former Monaco and PSG man playing up front with Fabien Robert while Wesley Lautoa was restored to the defence with Benjamin Corgnet, Mohammed Abu and Maxime Baca all dropped.
PSG made five changes to the side which eased to a 3-1 win over Brest in their final home game, Alphonse Areola making his first start in goal in place of Salvatore Sirigu, David Beckham was left out of the side, ending his 20-year career.
Gameiro was introduced to the game in the 14th minute as Ezequiel Lavezzi was forced off following a nasty clash of heads with Mario Lemina, the Lorient midfielder did manage to play on but was eventually substituted at half-time.
Chances were at a premium in a scrappy first half, but perhaps the best opportunity fell to Robert, who forced a strong save from Areola with a vicious half-volley after latching on to a Giuly lay-off.
PSG responded well and almost found the opener, Ibrahimovic heading wide from a Gameiro cross, before the 26-year-old lofted an effort wide after Clement Chantome’s superb long pass.
Javier Pastore also wasted a chance to give Carlo Ancelotti’s men before the break, but it did not take PSG too long to net the first goal following the interval, as Ibrahimovic struck to notch his 30th league goal of the campaign.
The Swede was recently voted as Ligue 1 Player of the Year, and showed exactly why, calmly chesting in a Gameiro cross to become the first player since Jean-Pierre Papin in 1990 to reach the 30-goal mark in a French top-flight campaign.
There was an unorthodox substitution on 60 minutes as Areola made way for substitute goalkeeper Roman Le Crom to make his first appearance of the term.
Ibrahimovic returned the favour to Gameiro soon after, who stretched to poke the ball into the back of the next after the former Milan man’s cross had deflected into his path.
That goal was PSG’s 100th in the league of the campaign, and Gameiro didn’t take long to notch a club record 101st, the France international meeting Pastore’s deep delivery with a wonderful volley which flew into the bottom corner, leaving Lorient stopper Fabien Audard with no chance.
The French capital club looked to be cruising to a clean sheet, but that soon changed when Le Crom felled substitute Julien Quercia to concede a penalty.
Le Crom was dismissed by referee Benoit Bastien, forcing centre-back Mamadou Sakho to come on in place of Chantome and take his place in goal, although he was not able to prevent Arnaud Le Lan from converting the spot-kick on his final showing for Lorient.
The Breton side’s man advantage proved to be inconsequential, however, as the champions defended stoutly to preserve the win.
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