The Blues head into their first ever last eight clash on the back of an excellent 4-0 win at Bournemouth, but how did the Parisians fare this weekend...?
PSG 4-1 Nice, 2 April 2016
How did they line up?
H-1 : Here is our starting line up to face Nice !!! #PSGOGCN pic.twitter.com/Q2PEfg20IO
— PSG Officiel (@PSG_inside) April 2, 2016
Starting XI (4-3-3): Trapp; Maxwell, Luiz, Silva, Marquinhos; Matuidi, Motta (Stambouli 69), Rabiot, Ongenda (Cavani 69), Ibrahimovic, Moura (Nkunku 80).
Unused subs: Douchez, Augustin, Kurzawa, van der Wiel.
Laurent Blanc made two changes from the side that fell to a home defeat to Monaco, with Blaise Matuidi and Hervin Ongenda replacing Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani.
The Parisians hope the injured pairing of Di Maria (tibia) and Javier Pastore (calf) will be fit to return against City, whilst Marco Verratti (hernia) is a doubt.
Although Serge Aurier’s suspension was completed in time for the game against Nice, he did not feature.
How did the game pan out?
Following a spell of relatively poor home form, PSG headed into the clash seeking a victory to restore confidence ahead of City’s visit.
The Parisians had already secured the Ligue 1 title in mid-March but sought to make a statement on their own patch - and they did, inspired by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swede bagged a hat-trick to clinch the three points, netting his 30th goal of the season in the process to equal his total from the 2012-13 campaign.
The striker opened the scoring after 15 minutes, controlling David Luiz’s floated pass well before composing himself and smashing home.
Just three minutes later, Nice levelled the score as Hatem Ben Arfa drove forward and curled beyond Kevin Trapp, but Ibrahimovic restored the hosts’ lead with a stunning 20-yard free-kick.
Within minutes of the second half, PSG claimed a two-goal advantage as Luiz headed in Ongenda’s corner, and the scoring was completed as Ibrahimovic clinched his treble, slotting Adrien Rabiot’s through-ball past Yoan Cardinale.
Post-match reaction
Laurent Blanc: ”I can’t say yet whether that was a good rehearsal for the game against Manchester City. The aim was to win, and we did that.
“Even if we hadn’t scored for a little while at the Parc, we have always been creating chances.
“I don’t know if we’re ready. It’s on Wednesday that we have to be ready.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: ”We played a good game ahead of Wednesday’s European match against City. It was a good preparation.
“We need to continue like this, with the same confidence, the same rhythm, and with a little bit of luck, we’ll get there.
“Personally, I feel good. The team is doing magical things this season and I’m just following them. They play well, so I play well.”
