Breaking Down Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Performance for PSG vs. Guingamp

It has not been the easiest of seasons for Paris Saint-Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the Swede’s campaign upset by injuries and his struggles to rediscover the same brilliant form that Ligue 1 saw from him in his first two terms in the French capital.

However, the talismanic striker has still produced a small handful of performances this season with that same magic from his past two campaigns and his display during Friday’s 6-0 rout of EA Guingamp was one of those showings.

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Edinson Cavani grabbed the headlines with his first treble in a PSG shirt, while Marco Verratti also received plenty of plaudits for another demonstration of his sublime skill and ability. However, Ibrahimovic also deserves credit for his brace of goals and pair of assists.

The Uruguayan opened the scoring inside of two minutes by finishing from Serge Aurier’s excellent cross from the right, but the Swede did not have to wait long to get in on the action.

Verratti picked the ball up and found Cavani inside the area before El Matador returned it to the Italian.

From there, on the edge of the box, the midfielder fed Ibrahimovic on the right side of the penalty area and the PSG No. 10 cut inside onto his supposedly weaker left foot before firing an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Jonas Lossl into the roof of the Guingamp net.

Considering the 33-year-old’s occasional lack of mobility since returning from his heel problem earlier this season, his movement for the goal was remarkably fluid and suggested that the towering striker is finally putting his physical issues behind him after a frustrating campaign.

The same relative freedom of movement saw him earn his second goal too.

Ibrahimovic managed to outwit Jeremy Sorbon before the Guingamp man clumsily brought him down for a PSG penalty. The Swede then dusted himself off and fired the spot kick—as is his custom—low to Lossl’s right, with the Dane unable to get across his goal fast enough to keep it out.

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More impressive than his movement to create both of his goals, though, was his vision to lay on two more for his team-mates.

The first, a simple pass to play in Cavani after picking up the ball from Yohan Cabaye, gave the Uruguayan the opportunity to smash the ball into the top right corner, which El Matador accepted with relish. Lossl got a touch, but he could not keep it out because of the power.

However, it was the second that was vintage Ibrahimovic.

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After being played into space by Javier Pastore, Zlatan held the ball up on the right side of the penalty area and close to the goal line before taking his time to pick out his next pass. With a superb chip after holding off his man, the Swede found Maxwell at the far post and the Brazilian headed to put Laurent Blanc’s men 4-0 up.

It was a magnificent performance from Ibrahimovic, along with Cavani and Verratti. However, most intriguingly, it was an extension of the opening 45 minutes of the 2-0 win away at FC Nantes last weekend.

During the first half at Stade de la Beaujoire, Zlatan, El Matador and Pastore managed to combine well to create a plethora of chances that Cavani was unable to make the most of. This time, the trio managed to prolong that dominant spell across two halves and offer some hope that next season they can all co-exist in a system that gets the best out of all three of them.

Positionally, Ibrahimovic and Cavani spent more time in advanced central roles—which will be more to the Uruguayan’s liking—while Pastore maintained his free role and licence to roam that has seen him thrive in recent weeks.

When Ezequiel Lavezzi and Lucas Moura were brought on later, Blanc switched his team to a 4-4-2 that possessed both pace out wide through the two substitutes and two central attacking options in Ibrahimovic and Cavani.

Although El Pocho’s time at Parc des Princes is almost certain to end this summer, it will be interest to see how Le President lines his team up once Lucas is fit enough to start once more.

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Overall, it was an excellent performance from Ibrahimovic and one of his best of the season by far.

Now just three goals away from equalling Pauleta’s all-time PSG scoring record of 109, it is difficult to see Zlatan failing to break this tally before the end of the season if he maintains his current form.