Ligue 1 > Match Reports
11/08/2012
11/08/2012
A brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic on his Ligue 1 debut, including a last-minute penalty, spared Paris Saint-Germain's blushes as the club from the capital opened with a 2-2 draw at home to Lorient.
Paris Saint-Germain 2 - 2 FC Lorient 
PSG's summer spending spree, which brought a host of world-class players to the Parc des Princes, had left many believing Carlo Ancelotti's men would stroll to a third Ligue 1 title. The club from the capital may still end the campaign as champions, but their visitors from Brittany served notice that the cliché 'money does not always bring success' is alive and kicking. A Maxwell own-goal just four minutes in was hardly the way PSG expected to start, and Jérémie Aliadière heightened the sense of disbelief by doubling Lorient's lead in first-half added time. Ibrahimovic reduced his new employer's arrears with 26 minutes left, and took on the responsibility his standing as a bona fide world star brings by tucking away a spot-kick in the dying seconds to maintain PSG's unbeaten home record in L1 under Ancelotti.
Les Merlus had proven party poopers in PSG's first home game of last season, and though – a year on – the gulf between the two sides on paper is even wider, the scenario initially looked as if it would be the same. Kevin Monnet-Paquet has neither the reputation nor the talent of Ibrahimovic, but the former RC Lens forward was more effective than his Swedish counterpart when he charged forward and delivered a low cross which Maxwell could only turn past Nicolas Douchez. The PSG goalkeeper must surely have been hoping for a better start to his L1 debut for the club from the capital.
The ex-Rennes number one, who was thrust into the starting XI with Salvatore Sirigu short of match fitness, might have expected to spend the entire evening in joining the capacity crowd watching his teammates wreak havoc at the other end of the pitch. Jérémy Menez did do that shortly after PSG fell behind, but his low cross was just too far in front of Ezequiel Lavezzi for the Argentine to claim a debut goal.
Hardly surprising
The close-but-no-cigar moment was symptomatic of PSG's start, and given Lavezzi, Ibrahimovic, and Marco Verratti were all making their L1 bow, it was perhaps hardly surprising that, despite their talent, they were not quite on the same wavelength as their teammates. The message seemed to get through to Ibrahimovic when Clément Chantôme sent over a corner, but Fabien Audard comfortably handled the Swede's header. Another corner soon after found central defender Alex, partnered by Mamadou Sakho with Thiago Silva still with the Brazilian Olympic squad, but the Brazilian missed the target with Audard scrambling.
Lorient's summer spending was significantly more modest than their hosts', though they did do an astute piece of business in wooing Alain Traoré from relegated AJ Auxerre. The powerful striker's explosive pace proved a problem for the home defence, and when he latched onto an Aliadière pass, he might have done better than thrash a wild shot wide of the target. Lavezzi did find the target with an acrobatic effort which Audard parried superbly with Bruno Ecuelé-Managa producing a delightfully-timed tackle to prevent Ibrahimovic pouncing on the loose ball.
It was Douchez, though, who produced the save of the half when he brilliantly turned away a Traoré free-kick which seemed destined for the top corner, but the PSG 'keeper was beaten again just before the break. Aliadière has not always been able to harness his talent, but the former Arsenal forward gave an insight into why Arsène Wenger once rated him so highly when he eased in from the left with the PSG defence static before firing confidently beyond Douchez to leave the Parc des Princes stunned into silence come the break.
Excellent technique
Undoubtedly given a stiff half-time dressing-down by Ancelotti, PSG emerged with a clear desire to improve their fortunes. The injury-enforced exit of the excellent Ecuelé-Manga at the interval certainly improved their chances of breaking down the visitors, and Ibrahimovic soon sent a header just wide before Lavezzi brought a point-blank block from Audard. The Argentine then crossed for Ibrahimovic, whose shot rattled a post as PSG threatened to open their season's account.
It was no surprise when the goal eventually came, and few eyebrows were raised by the name of the scorer. Having found the net on his PSG debut during the pre-season tour in the USA, Ibrahimovic repeated the feat on his competitive debut, showing both his excellent technique in chesting down the ball before displaying his power to brush off ex-PSG defender Grégory Bourillon and sliding the ball beyond Audard.
Bourillon did not enjoy the best of spells in Paris, and the ex-Stade Rennais FC centre-back now has one more bad memory of the capital after mis-timing his lunge to halt Blaise Matuidi - Ibrahimovic stepped up to beat Audard and earn his side a not undeserved share of the spoils with time running out.
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