Laurent Blanc pleased PSG kept plugging away to topple Guingamp

22 September 2015 23:30

Paris St Germain coach Laurent Blanc praised his players for sticking with it when things were not going their way in Tuesday evening's 3-0 Ligue 1 victory over Guingamp at the Parc des Princes.

The unbeaten capital club headed into the game on the back of disappointing draws against Bordeaux and Reims and, despite not looking entirely convincing at times, Javier Pastore, Angel Di Maria and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all grabbed their first league goals of the season en route to a welcome three points.

"It was a difficult match, but we showed good intentions, both as individuals and as a team," Blanc said.

"At half-time, I told the players that we could not achieve everything we wanted, but that we must not be discouraged.

"We struggled a little to translate our dominance onto the scoreboard, but we kept plugging away and in the end we broke their resistance. I'm happy for the players because they were rewarded for their efforts."

Pastore and Di Maria struck either side of the break to set the hosts up for a win before Ibrahimovic, who has been struggling of late with an abdominal problem suffered on international duty, added a third.

"I felt good out there tonight," the Sweden captain said on www.psg.fr. "The most important thing is that I keep getting back to my best. I need to play more games to get there.

"I was never worried about not scoring goals - the goals will come.

"As long as the team is winning, the spirit in the squad is good for scoring goals and that's the essential. Tonight I scored and the team won, so I'm very happy. We need to continue like this to get stronger and stronger."

Blanc was pleased to see Ibrahimovic back looking closer to fitness after his recent problem.

"(Ibrahimovic) was moving much more than against Reims (on Saturday), and was even better in the second half," the PSG boss said. "He still lacks a little something, but when he has that back, he will score more than (one) goal."

Blanc added that defender Gregory van der Wiel would undergo tests on Wednesday after feeling "a small pain in the groin" which ended his involvement in the match midway through the second half.

A first win in three for PSG meant they went four points clear at the top for 24 hours at least while Guingamp, who entered the clash on the back of three successive wins without conceding a goal, remained in eighth.

Source: PA-WIRE