Ibrahimovic hat-trick helps PSG beat Nice, Lille held to a draw

Zlatan Ibrahimovic continued his rich vein of form scoring a hat-trick

Zlatan Ibrahimovic continued his rich vein of recent form as his hat-trick helped PSG beat Nice 3-1 to go four points clear at the top of Ligue 1.

With the hat-trick, Ibrahimovic now has 15 goals in 17 games and with the win PSG extended their lead at the top with title-chasers Monaco and Lille both held to draws.

Ibrahimovic opened the scoring shortly before half-time and scored a second from the spot on the hour mark after Edinson Cavani was brought down in the box. After Nice got one goal back in the 70th minute from Nemanja Pejcinovic, but soon after Zlatan got his and PSG’s third to secure the result for the defending French champions.

“If Ibra can be one of the contenders along with (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Franck) Ribery and (Lionel) Messi, I’d be happy,” admitted Blanc. “He has scored some spectacular goals, but in terms of what Ribery has won you can’t do better.”

Lille were held by 10-man Guingamp to a goalless draw as they failed to keep pace with PSG. In a game that saw few chances, Lille failed to take advantage of their numerical superiority after Lionel Mathis was sent off for Guingamp with about 10 minutes remaining in the match.

Monaco too could only muster a draw as their recent downturn in fortunes continued. It required a goal from their star striker Radamel Falcao to earn the draw though as they had fallen behind early. Monaco have only taken one point out of their last six.