PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimovic Answers Critics with Treble to Down Lorient in Ligue 1

Paris Saint-Germain are back at the top of Ligue 1—at least until league leaders Olympique Lyonnais host OGC Nice this weekend—after a 3-1 win over FC Lorient at Parc des Princes on Friday.

For a long period, it looked as if it would be another one of those days for Laurent Blanc’s men, who were wasteful in front of goal once again.

However, Zlatan Ibrahimovic—who has been in the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons after his outrageous referee rant last Sunday—bagged himself a hat-trick to see off Les Merlus and respond to his critics.

PSG tactician Blanc was delighted with his side's ability to recover from a slow period following the opening goal when he spoke with PSG.fr after the match.

"

We started very well, and then we went to sleep, before finishing well; that's a short resume of the match. We could have made the game safe inside the opening 20 minutes, but then Lorient began to believe in their chances, which is normal. Fortunately, we stepped back on the accelerator and we finished well. We would have preferred to have made the game safe, but we didn't manage to do that. Barcelona in the Champions League? We thought we would get a better draw, especially in terms of travelling away for the return leg. It will be a great tie, we will have time to think about that in April, which will be a crucial match for the club.

"

PSG made the perfect start; Lorient goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte took out Ibrahimovic in the fourth minute, and the Swede opened the scoring with the resulting penalty. However, Les Parisiens—as is often the case—were unable to build on their early lead and wasted a number of great opportunities.

Chief among those guilty of being wasteful in front of goal was Ezequiel Lavezzi, who passed up a handful of good openings. One in particular, following a sublime back-heeled pass from Ibrahimovic, should have resulted in a goal.

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

But as the minutes ticked by, it looked more and more likely that PSG had settled for their lead and were just happy to hold on for the three points. Therefore, it was no surprise when Lorient levelled the score.

Teed up by Benjamin Jeannot just outside the Parisien penalty area, Jordan Ayew fired a superb low effort past Salvatore Sirigu to silence Parc des Princes.

Moments later, the Ghanaian was denied a sensational volleyed second by an even better clearing header off the line by Marco Verratti. The Italian is making a habit for his on-the-line defensive heroics, and the power of Ayew’s thumping drive sent him flying into the goal, but without the ball in pursuit.

For the next 12 minutes, it looked as if Sylvain Ripoll’s men had done enough to leave Paris with a point, but then came the deciding moment of the match. Inexplicably, Lorient’s Lamine Kone went to ground near his own goal and made minimal contact with Javier Pastore.

As debatable as the actual foul was, Kone and his team-mates can have no real complaints that the spot-kick was given in that situation.

Even if the Frenchman did not make significant contact, the chances of a referee awarding the penalty are extremely high, and Tony Chapron did what many others facing the same decision would have done.

Francois Mori/Associated Press

Ibrahimovic stepped up to face Lecomte from the penalty spot for the second time in the game, and the result was exactly the same. PSG were up, 2-1. And from that moment onward, it appeared unlikely that Lorient would get back on level terms again with just eight minutes left.

The 33-year-old’s spot-kick was his third in his last two games, and all three of the defending French champions' most recent goals, at that moment, had come from 12 yards out. On top of that, Ibrahimovic now has six goals from penalties alone in 2015.

Blanc’s men put their visitors to bed right at the death, though, with Ibrahimovic completing his hat-trick to make the points safe.

Latching on to a Verratti pass, the PSG talisman took one touch to set himself before firing past Lecomte to confirm the 3-1 win. The French goalkeeper was unlucky and looked as if he got a touch to Ibrahimovic’s finish, but the Swede was too busy silencing—literally—his numerous critics from this week.

Overall, the scoreline was flattering for PSG because of poor finishing once again, but Blanc’s men did create enough chances to score a similar number of goals without their No. 10’s penalty-kick prowess. The hard-working Edinson Cavani, for example, could have bagged a couple on another night.

The result was tough on Lorient, who were excellent for the majority of the game, but they did not create enough to have claimed anything more than a point really.

PSG go on top, provisionally, signing off for the international break with an important win to put Lyon under pressure ahead of Nice on Saturday.