Edinson Cavani Hits Double vs. Reims as PSG Celebrate Ligue 1 Title in Style

Paris Saint-Germain celebrated their third consecutive Ligue 1 title in style on Saturday, with a 3-2 win over Stade de Reims at Parc des Princes.

The result confirmed Les Parisiens’ eight-point winning margin over Olympique Lyonnais and keeps them in form ahead of next week’s Coupe de France final against AJ Auxerre at Stade de France.

PSG coach Laurent Blanc was delighted with his players and the attitude they showed on the night when he faced the press after the game. Le President now looking forward to next week's cup final.

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We showed a great mentality tonight, but we can't relax. It's our own fault: we set ourselves up for an extra week of work by qualifying for the Coupe de France final (against Auxerre on Saturday, May 30), which we have our hearts set on winning. The league is a very tough competition to win, which makes our title even more beautiful. I have a great team with excellent players. It has been a beautiful season.

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Edinson Cavani was PSG’s star man, scoring twice to take his season total in Le Championnat to 18 goals—just one shy of top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Adrien Rabiot added the other for the capital club, with Aissa Mandi and Grejohn Kyei narrowing the deficit for Reims.

Laurent Blanc’s men were two goals up by half-time, and the celebrations started in earnest, with Zoumana Camara making his final professional appearance and deservingly enjoying the adulation of the home fans.

Jacques Brinon/Associated Press

Cavani set the French champions on the road to three more points after 31 minutes, running onto a superb Marco Verratti pass to squeeze the ball past Kossi Agassa.

El Matador might not have scored in the title-clinching win away at Montpellier HSC last weekend, but he made up for it here and celebrated his call-up to the final 23-man Uruguay squad for this summer’s Copa America by getting on the scoresheet.

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Six minutes from time, Cavani added his second of the evening, sweeping home after substitute Ezequiel Lavezzi found him with a cross from the left that the Reims defence failed to cut out. That goal took the 28-year-old to 12 goals in his last eight domestic appearances and completes what has been an excellent run of late-season form.

Cavani’s name is likely to be thrown around a lot this summer with regards to transfer speculation, but in this sort of form, PSG would be mad to consider getting rid of him.

The South American’s double sandwiched a lovely strike from Rabiot on the stroke of half-time. After being found by Lucas Moura on the left side of the Reims' penalty area, the young Frenchman steadied himself before firing a left-footed effort past Agassa for his fourth Ligue 1 goal of the season.

Jacques Brinon/Associated Press

It was fitting that Lucas had something to show for his first start since the 3-1 win away at OGC Nice back in April. The Brazilian enjoyed an excellent first half and played 75 minutes, which will boost his hopes of starting the Coupe de France final against Auxerre at Stade de France next week.

However, despite Cavani, Rabiot and Lucas’ good displays, it was Camara’s evening.

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Captain for his final professional appearance, the 36-year-old fared surprisingly well—despite the two goals conceded—and had his every touch cheered by the home supporters. Likely to move into a coaching role at the end of the season, it was a classy touch from Coach Blanc to give him the full 90 minutes and the captain’s armband.

Thiago Silva’s exit after 58 minutes appeared to be a precaution to avoid aggravating a potential injury ahead of the Coupe de France final, but there is still a chance that Camara could be called into action again if the Brazilian is unable to feature next weekend.

PSG failed to beat last season’s total of 84 goals scored, falling just one short, but nine consecutive wins in Ligue 1 is still a new club record, and Les Parisiens signed off in style in Le Championnat. It is fitting that their opponents were Reims, a team from the Champagne region of France, with plenty of bottles no doubt consumed post-match.

If Blanc and his players can secure the Coupe de France at Stade de France next Saturday, then the men from the capital will become the first French team to complete a domestic treble and even more bubbly will be in order.