Bastia vs. PSG: Winners and Losers from Ligue 1 Game

On Saturday afternoon, PSG squeezed past SC Bastia with an unconvincing 2-0 win over the Corsican side at the Stade Armand Cesari.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal in the 72nd minute broke the islanders' resolve—although replays showed that the preceding pass from Javier Pastore to Edinson Cavani was offside.

The Swede, although not at his best once again, scored the second with eight minutes to go to seal the win.

It was harsh on the home side after they had held off the Ligue 1 champions, especially to concede in such a way.

Before the game, manager Laurent Blanc was being cautious, via the PSG website:

"

Our preparations have been complicated by the fact that our match against Real Madrid is next Wednesday. We have a lot of respect for Bastia - they posed us a lot of problems last season. We've prepared as best we could given the late return of our internationals.

We have to make do with these circumstances and we can't talk about an optimal preparation. Nonetheless we're headed to Bastia with a lot of motivation to get the win. Still I think that we won't have our whole squad together until later today - 24 hours before the match.

"

The former France boss was right to be concerned. It was far from a convincing win and asks more questions about the attitude of his side and their ability to raise their game in the league.

Here are the winners and losers from PSG’s 2-0 win over Bastia.

Winner: Laurent Blanc

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Quite simply, it was a game that will be forgotten quickly. Bastia battled well but lacked the quality in the final third to really ask questions of the PSG defence.

Ultimately, PSG were poor in the final third.

However, Blanc was able to rest Blaise Matuidi, Marco Verratti and Angel Di Maria and still pick up the three points.

That bodes well for the midweek Champions League game against Real Madrid—which is the club's priority.

Blanc will have to be concerned about the performance, though.

Loser: PSG Midfield Trio

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On Saturday, Blanc rested Verratti, Matuidi and Thiago Motta from the start—obviously with Real Madrid in mind—and although they picked up the win, the difference in quality was staggering.

Playing with Adrien Rabiot, Benjamin Stambouli and Javier Pastore—although all good players in their own right—they lacked the quality to really put Bastia to the sword.

None of the trio has the drive and intelligence that Verratti and Matuidi possess, making the midfield limp and lifeless for huge spells.

Pastore’s pass for the goal was a great moment of magic, but replays showed Cavani was offside. Too much pointless passing, not enough leadership or star quality.

Winner: Salvatore Sirigu

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An injury to Kevin Trapp will give Salvatore Sirigu a chance to show just why he spent several seasons as PSG’s No. 1 goalkeeper.

Nothing Bastia did tested the Italian goalkeeper, but just the fact he recorded a clean sheet will do wonders for both him and Blanc.

Sirigu was in goal when they lost 4-2 last season, so to come back to Corsica and get the win is redemption for the ‘keeper.

Loser: Lucas Moura

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In terms of productivity and usefulness, this was actually a decent performance from the Brazilian.

However, that says more about his recent displays to suggest that Saturday’s was an improvement.

To make things worse for Lucas Moura, although the 23-year-old made some good runs and looked to cause problems, it will be Ibrahimovic and Cavani who catch the plaudits, without being anywhere near effective themselves.

Di Maria will not be worried about his place in the side, and the young Brazilian has a long way to go if he wants a future at the Parisian club.