Javier Pastore Dazzles and Delights as Paris Saint-Germain Destroy Lille

It is said that a wounded animal is the most dangerous, and it was Lille OSC who felt the wrath of Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday. Javier Pastore was in scintillating form as the Ligue 1 champions reacted to their abject performance against Barcelona in the Champions League.

The Argentine playmaker started in the attack alongside Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi, and although he didn’t get on the scoresheet in the devastating 6-1 win (in French) over the northern side, he was behind everything that PSG created and deserves praise for his performance.

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Pastore living up to 'best player in world' tag today (© Cantona). Serving up goals for Lavezzi & Cavani on a silver platter #PSG 6-1 #Lille

— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) April 25, 2015"

In Spain, quite a number of players failed to turn up and show that they could compete with Luis Enrique’s side, Pastore being one of them, and you could see from the opening minutes that he was determined to make amends.

The intent was there from kick-off, and it was Pastore that sparked the move for the opening goal.

Pushing the ball forward from midfield, he picked out a lovely pass out wide for Serge Aurier, the Ivorian’s cross made it all the way to the edge of the box and Maxwell fired past Vincent Enyeama.

The Nigerian goalkeeper should have done better, but it was a stunning start from the hosts.

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

Within minutes it was 2-0, with Pastore the provider this time. The Argentine had all the space in the world when he picked the ball up in the middle of the park. Lille tried to play Cavani offside, but Simon Kjaer got it horribly wrong. The PSG No. 9 was in the clear and he superbly lobbed Enyeama from outside the box, showing no signs of his recent lack of confidence.

PSG made it three when Thiago Motta's pass from deep ripped apart the defence and Cavani squared for Lavezzi's first. He then had his second before the break after Blaise Matuidi's lung-bursting run down the left, putting the ball on a plate for the Argentine winger.

The home side were devastating on the counter all afternoon. Whenever Lille tried to build something in PSG’s half, the moment they lost the ball, the Parisians were quick, decisive and sharp, with Pastore at the forefront of everything dangerous Laurent Blanc’s side created.

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Lavezzi has a treble, Cavani has scored 2 (including a great lob) & provided an assist, yet Pastore still stealing the show! #PSGLOSC

— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) April 25, 2015"

It was the Argentine again who tried to set up Cavani just after the hour mark, chipping the ball beautifully over the Lille defence, but rather than hit through the ball with his left foot, the striker tried to lop Enyeama again with the outside of his right-foot. The ball went over the bar, but it was another moment of brilliance from Pastore.

After playing the role of creator for most of the afternoon, Pastore took it upon himself to try to find a fifth. After beating Florent Balmont with some lovely footwork on the edge of the box, his right-foot shot sailed over the bar.

The fifth goal was all Pastore again, although the statistics won't show his contribution. From just inside the Lille half he picked out Lavezzi's darting run with pin-point precision, the winger took the ball in his stride, but he was then brought down by Sebastien Corchia. The right-back was given a red card and Cavani fired the spot-kick into the net with still 17 minutes to go.

To round off the day, and Pastore's tremendous performance, it was the No. 27 that started off the sixth and final goal. His pass from deep was played into the feet of Lavezzi, on a double already it was his determination that fashioned the goal, touching the ball past Kjaer, on to his right foot before finding the bottom corner.

Saturday’s performance from both PSG and Pastore is what fans of the club and Ligue 1 have been waiting for all season. They showed a killer instinct and a desire to punish their opponent.

All too often after going a goal up they would take their foot off the gas, not on Saturday. It was wonderful to watch and if PSG can play in that manner for the remainder of the season, there is no doubt they will win their third consecutive title.