The Sunday News
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN are guaranteed to end 2015 on top of the Ligue 1 table after a 4-1 win against Troyes on a day marked by tributes to the victims of the recent terror attacks.
It was a routine win for PSG with Edinson Cavani and Layvin Kurzawa finding the net either side of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty before youngster Jean-Kevin Augustin wrapped up the points.
Thomas Ayasse got one back for the away side but the win for Paris means they are still unbeaten domestically this season and are so far clear of their rivals that they have already secured the symbolic title of autumn champions for the team that tops the table at Christmas.
But the match was also significant for being the first top-level game to be played in the French capital since the terror attacks in the city and outside the Stade de France during France’s game with Germany on November 13 that left 130 dead and many more injured.
With France still in a state of emergency, there were stringent security checks on the way into the Parc des Princes, and there was also a moving tribute before the game kicked off.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and other sporting superstars appeared on a video played on big screens with each repeating the slogan ‘Je Suis Paris’ (I am Paris) that PSG also sported on their shirts.
A huge French flag greeted the players as they came out while ‘La Marseillaise’ was sung and a minute’s silence held, just as had been the case across France and elsewhere in Europe last weekend.
France’s prime minister Manuel Valls and the Emir of Qatar were also among the crowd for the game as the club owned by the Gulf state further demonstrated their dominance over the rest of Ligue 1. — SuperSport
