Ligue 1 wrap: PSG do it easy in France

Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways in Ligue 1 with a comfortable 4-0 triumph over Evian on Saturday, while Montpellier also won.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men suffered a 2-1 defeat at Nice last weekend but they bounced back at the Parc des Princes courtesy of goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Motta and Kevin Gameiro.

Evian immediately set out to frustrate their opponents, placing a bank of players in defence when not in possession but after a number of sights on goal, Ibrahimovic finally made the breakthrough on 28 minutes.

Javier Pastore, who had been pulling the strings in midfield, set Christophe Jallet on his way to the by-line with an exquisite flick and the full-backs cross was guided home by Ibrahimovic.

Three minutes later the advantage was doubled as the giant Swedish striker used his strength to hold off two defenders and control a long pass from Jeremy Menez on his chest.

Lavezzi picked up the ball and showed great composure to take a touch and place his shot in off the post.

Although Evian improved in the second half, PSG still dominated and after Motta slotted home from Pastore’s cross in the 84th minute, Gameiro completed the rout as he tapped home the hosts’ fourth goal following some superb interplay between Ibrahimovic and Menez.

Meanwhile, defending champions Montpellier moved further away from the relegation zone after beating struggling Ajaccio 3-0.

Montpellier had tasted defeat only once in their past six league fixtures heading into Saturday’s encounter and they extended that run thanks to John Utaka, Remy Cabella and Younes Belhanda.

In other results on Saturday, cellar-dwellers Nancy held high-flying Valenciennes to a 1-1 draw, Brest came from two goals down to salvage a point against Rennes, Lille’s season of inconsistency continued as they played out a 1-1 stalemate with lowly Sochaux, while a dramatic 92nd-minute equaliser from Dario Cvitanich earned Nice a share of the spoils at Troyes.