Zlatan Ibrahimovic Goal Secures Gritty PSG Coupe Win at Saint-Etienne

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain are into the semi-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue after a narrow 1-0 win over AS Saint-Etienne at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Tuesday. Les Parisiens knocked out Les Verts in last season’s edition, albeit one round earlier and at home, repeating the trick this time around without the need for extra time.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s improvised finish with his chest in the 72nd minute clearly crossed Stephane Ruffier’s line, despite the ASSE goalkeeper's and his teammates’ protests, proving to be enough to secure Laurent Blanc’s men a place in the last four.

"We qualified with some quality, because I thought that we played well," Le President revealed after the final whistle (h/t Ligue1.com). "In spite of all the analyses following a mediocre second half, disastrous even, at Bastia, I thought we could qualify, score and not concede. After Bastia, I got the impression we didn't know how to play any more and that there was a bad attitude."

"I saw many positive things, and that's what made us win at Saint-Etienne, which is not easy to do. This time, we played two good halves. When we have a bad half, people talk a lot about it because we are PSG."

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While it was not pretty at times, PSG showed plenty of grit and determination to come away from Le Chaudron with the victory. Christophe Galtier’s men created plenty of chances but could not find a way past the capital club’s solid back line.

Ibrahimovic might have been the match winner with his typically unorthodox finish, but the majority of PSG’s top performers were either in the defence or midfield.

The shock 4-2 defeat at SC Bastia obviously had a profound effect on certain members of the team and motivated them more than ever to keep it tight. The Brazilian trio of captain Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Marquinhos all coped well with the Saint-Etienne attack and limited their hosts to a small number of real chances.

Silva, in particular, was outstanding in the defensive unit.

The 30-year-old put in one of his best performances at club level for some time, providing the sort of authoritative, self-assured, competitive and composed display that has been missing in the last few weeks. A strong showing from the Selecao star was punctuated with two top-quality interceptions, including one sliding block.

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Alongside him, Luiz was also very good and appeared to thrive on Silva’s calming influence that had not been apparent in last Saturday’s 4-2 mauling at the hands of Bastia. The PSG No. 5 was as serene as his partner, and the pair, along with the impressive Marquinhos at right-back, worked hard to make sure that second-choice goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez had little to do on the night.

When a clear-cut chance did finally present itself for Saint-Etienne, Ricky van Wolfswinkel saw his close range diving header clawed away from underneath the crossbar by the cat-like Frenchman in Les Parisiens’ goal. Douchez rarely gets the chance to impress in the capital, but this was a save of the highest quality and came at a vital moment with just minutes remaining.

Just as impressive as the defence, though, was little Marco Verratti in the PSG midfield.

The Italian international put in an exceptional performance and barely put a foot wrong for the entire 90 minutes. When he was not using his dazzling array of silky touches and metronomic passing skills, he was making bursting runs forward, as he tried to help Blanc’s men open up the lead.

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Tenacious when he needed to be and precocious at other times, Verratti also showed impressive restraint in not being one of the eight players shown the yellow card by referee Said Ennjimi on the night. All in all, it was a mature performance from the pint-sized midfield terrier, who also saved his team's skin in the first half with a good block on the line from a Saint-Etienne corner.

Going forward, PSG did not create much. However, Ibrahimovic made the difference when it really counted and simply made sure that the ball went over the line, and Lucas’ cross was turned home.

Cup wins cannot always be attractive and by large margins, especially coming up against teams in the same division. However, considering that Saint-Etienne are the team who are currently keeping PSG out of the Ligue 1 top three with the best defensive record in the top flight, Blanc’s men should view this as a big result and a positive step forward after a few disappointing results.