Paris Saint-Germain reached their fourth consecutive Coupe de la Ligue final by defeating FC Girondins de Bordeaux 1-4 on Tuesday. The hosts proved difficult at the start but eventually, the reigning French champions wore them down and secured the victory thanks to goals from Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani.
The Argentine got things started in the 19th minute with one of the best free kick’s you’ll ever see:
Bordeaux answered with a goal of their own in the 32nd minute and the two teams headed into halftime tied with it all to play for in the second half. Luckily for PSG, that’s when Cavani decided to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
In the 60th minute, the Uruguayan timed his run perfectly and Lucas Moura picked him out with a beautiful through ball. There was still plenty left to do and Cavani made the goal look easy as he blasted his shot past the Bordeaux keeper.
El Matador wasn’t done just yet though. In the 74th minute, Cavani scored a scrappy goal off a corner to put the game out of reach. To add insult to injury, Di Maria scored his second of the game with nine minutes remaining with a shot from distance that somehow found its way into the back of the net.
It was a solid performance overall from Les Parisiens, which bodes well for Unai Emery and his team as they prepare for a difficult stretch of matches. PSG host AS Monaco this Sunday for a top-of-the-table clash and then on February 14 they welcome Barcelona for the first match of their tie in the UEFA Champions League. With Cavani and Di Maria banging in the goals and the defensive as stout as ever (they allowed their first goal in nearly 500 minutes against Bordeaux), supporters have plenty of reasons to be optimistic after an abysmal start to the season.
The final of the Coupe de la Ligue will be on April 1 against Monaco in what promises to be an exciting match.
Check out our favorite images from PSG’s win and be sure to check back later for more transfer coverage and our preview of Sunday’s big game.
Subscribe to the PSG Talking podcast (iTunes) (Google Play) and follow us on Twitter @PSGTalk.