PARIS — Led by two brilliant goals from Angel di Maria, Paris Saint-Germain continued its march to a fourth-straight title by crushing Angers 5-1 to provisionally move 24 points clear at the top of the French league Saturday.
Angers boasted an excellent defensive record heading into the game, but had little answer once star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead in the 32nd minute.
Di Maria capped an outstanding performance with two goals midway through the second half, after Brazilian winger Lucas and right back Gregory van der Wiel had scored either side of halftime.
Di Maria received a standing ovation when he left the field 20 minutes from time, with Edinson Cavani replacing him.
Midfielder Blaise Matuidi set up three goals for PSG, which has won 19 games and drawn three this season and has a massive goal difference of 46.
Nice rallied to beat Lorient 2-1 at home later Saturday with another solo goal from winger Hatem Ben Arfa, and is level in second place with Monaco.
PSG’s last league defeat was away to Bordeaux on March 15 last season — and it finished last season in style with nine straight wins, meaning that PSG has not lost for 31 league games in total.
Also Saturday, it was: Lille 1, Troyes 3; Montpellier 1, Caen 2; Guingamp 1, Bastia 0; and Nantes 2, Bordeaux 2.
Dortmund trims
Bayern’s lead
Borussia Dortmund consolidated second place in the Bundesliga Saturday with a convincing 3-1 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach to trim Bayern Munich’s runaway lead in the table.
Goals by Dortmund’s Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan, with a consolation from Gladbach’s Raffael, sealed the win which left Dortmund both eight points behind Bayern and eight points ahead of third-placed Hertha Berlin.
Empoli holds AC Milan
AC Milan twice surrendered the lead and was held to a 2-2 draw at Empoli in an entertaining match in Serie A Saturday.
Milan took the lead through Carlos Bacca and Giacomo Bonaventura but Piotr Zielinski and Massimo Maccarone each time canceled out the visitor’s goals.
Milan remained sixth, provisionally 11 points behind Serie A leader Napoli, and seven behind Inter. Empoli is a point behind Milan.
Second from bottom Frosinone drew 0-0 against Atalanta.
Aguero rescues City
Sergio Aguero twice came to Manchester City’s rescue with the team’s only shots on target to recover a 2-2 draw at West Ham on another frustrating away-day for the title-chaser Saturday.
City has just one win in eight games on the road — the type of form that contributes to Manuel Pellegrini’s side being three points behind leader Leicester.
West Ham remained sixth, six points behind Tottenham, which occupies the fourth Champions League place. The east London club is enjoying its best run in the league in 19 years in its final season at Upton Park before moving to the nearby Olympic Stadium.
Messi dazzles again
Lionel Messi scored an acrobatic goal to help Barcelona earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Malaga Saturday, giving the defending champion the overnight lead of the Spanish league.
Showing no signs of any lingering muscle pain that kept him from playing midweek, Messi made a pass for Luis Suarez to set up Munir El Haddadi’s opening goal in the second minute.
After Malaga’s pressure led to Juan “Juanpi” Anor leveling, Messi restored Barcelona’s advantage for good with a skillful scissor kick after halftime.
Yet despite Messi leading the way in attack, Barcelona still needed goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to ensure it took three points from La Rosaleda Stadium.
Also Saturday, Mateo Musacchio’s 88th-minute header salvaged fourth-place Villarreal a 2-2 draw at Espanyol.
Granada almost squandered a two-goal lead before Ruben Rochina’s strike secured a 3-2 win over Getafe, while Rayo Vallecano routed fifth-place Celta Vigo 3-0 to end a nine-round winless run. — Agencies
