Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain steamrolled Bayer Leverkusen in a 4-0 away win at the BayArena in the first game of the teams’ two-game UEFA ChampionsLeague Round of 16 series. Ibra’s two goals, the second of which was a stunning first-time left-footed strike from distance, catapulted him to the top of the UCL scoring charts with 10 goals,one ahead of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Blaise Matuidi put the visitor in the lead after just three minutes before the big Swede doubled the leadfrom the penalty spot. His thunderbolt three minutes later put PSG firmly in the lead at the break before Yohan Cabaye added a fourth two minutes from time.
“I have anembarrassment of riches in my team at the moment,” PSG coach Laurent Blanc reflected in his post-game press conference. “We rediscovered the soccer we showed in the group stages, itwas better than we played at the start of the year and I was pleased to see it.” He added: “We didn’t want to give Bayer any self-confidence and we tried to make sure they didn’t get anyof the ball. We kept trying to push forward even when they started getting physical trying to stop us.”
When asked if this PSG is the best team he has played in, Ibra was coy: “I’ve played infantastic teams so difficult to say, you can have a great team, but not win trophies, we need to finish the job first,” the 32-year-old said.