Cavani ties club record, Neymar scores quadruple in PSG’s dominant win
Paris, Jan 18 (IANS) Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani became the joint top scorer in Paris Saint-Germain’s history with his 156th goal in all competitions in the football giant’s 8-0 demolition of Dijon.
The 21st round of Ligue 1 saw PSG star Neymar score four goals in his return from injury on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
But the story was about his striker partner, Cavani, who equalled Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s club record in the 21st minute after he nodded home an Angel Di Maria’s cross.
Before this, the Argentine winger finished a brilliant left-footed shot just four minutes into the match, before comfortably putting Neymar’s cross into an empty net.
With three minutes remaining before the break, Neymar, who was absent from last Sunday’s match due to rib problems, saw his free-kick leave Dijon goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet stranded in front of the goal line.
PSG’s attack showed no sign of slowing down after the restart. Neymar took advantage of Dijon defender Cedric Yambere’s mistake to put the hosts beyond reach. Neymar’s hat-trick was completed in the 73rd minute, as he broke down Dijon’s defense to find the target.
Neymar fed substitute Kylian Mbappe for a low shot four minutes later, and capped PSG’s dominant night with a spot kick in the 83rd minute.
With four goals and two assists, Neymar became the first player to have been involved in six goals in a single match since Ligue 1 data first started being collected in the 2006-07 season.
In another tie, Lyon moved up to second position on league table, following a 2-0 away victory over Guingamp. Skipper Nabil Fekir broke the deadlock with his 15th goal of the campaign, already the most prolific season of his career. Houssem Aouar scored in the second half.
Lyon lead Marseille by one point and defending champions Monaco are one point behind in the fourth place. Lyon will host PSG on Sunday.
Saint-Etienne was in a totally different scenario as they had to swallow a 0-3 defeat to bottom of the table Metz.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Amiens drew with Montpellier 1-1, Angers beat Troyes 3-1, Lille lost to Rennes 2-1, and Toulouse drew 1-1 with Nantes.
