Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores twice as PSG stroll to 5-0 win over Toulouse

Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck twice as Paris St Germain made up for their midweek Champions League defeat to Real Madrid by crushing Toulouse 5-0 to stretch their Ligue 1 lead to 11 points on Saturday.

Ángel Di María netted after six minutes to set PSG on their way, while second-half substitute Lucas and Ezequiel Lavezzi also got on the scoresheet. “We’re doing something outstanding. I think we can finish the [league] season unbeaten,” said Lucas.

Caen beat Guincamp 2-1, thanks to second-half goals from Julien Féret and Andy Delort, to move to second place, though they will be overtaken if either side wins Sunday’s meeting between Olympique Lyonnais and St Etienne, both two points further behind on 22, having played a game fewer.

Di María put PSG in front with a long-range free-kick that flew just over a crowd of players in the box and bounced past the Toulouse keeper, Al Ahamada. Ibrahimovic then headed home his 50th Ligue 1 goal at the Parc des Princes in the 18th minute after Marcel Tisserand inexplicably headed the ball straight to the Sweden striker, who was standing five yards in front of an empty net.

Lucas came off the bench to replace Edinson Cavani and made an immediate impact, scoring with a header in the 66th minute. He then slalomed through the defence in the 75th minute and, though his shot was tipped away by Ahamada, Ibrahimovic poked in the rebound, his ninth goal in his last eight league appearances and his 115th in 140 games since joining PSG from Milan before the 2012-13 season.

Lavezzi rubbed salt into Toulouse’s wounds three minutes later after Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik totally misjudged the flight of Ibrahimovic’s pass, allowing the Argentinian to run clear of the visiting defence. “If we continue like this we will be able to rest some players after Christmas in order to concentrate on the Champions League,” said the PSG centre back Thiago Silva.

Chelsea loses again in EPL, Bayern & PSG win big

Chelsea hit a low Saturday with a third straight loss in the English Premier League, while Bayern Munich rediscovered its dominant form in Germany.

Although absent for the 1-0 loss at Stoke, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will be under even more pressure after the preseason favorite fell to just three points above the previously unthinkable relegation zone.

Bayern, meanwhile, continued its march to repeating as Bundesliga champions by beating Stuttgart 4-0.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic also scored twice as French titleholders Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Toulouse 5-0 to move 11 points clear at the top of the table.

Here is a look at Europe’s major leagues on Saturday:

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ENGLAND

Chelsea and Mourinho were returned to an unwanted crisis by another defeat for the defending champions.

Stoke broke the deadlock when Marko Arnautovic scored with an acrobatic effort in the 53rd minute.

Mourinho missed the away game after receiving a stadium ban for his behavior toward match officials in a 2-1 defeat at West Ham in October.

Manchester United ended its Premier League scoring drought with a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion from Jesse Lingard’s first goal with the club and Juan Mata’s penalty.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy scored for the ninth straight league match in a 2-1 victory against Watford.

Newcastle, meanwhile, moved out of the relegation zone following a 1-0 away win against Bournemouth. Norwich beat Swansea 1-0, and Southampton defeated Sunderland 1-0.

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GERMANY

Thomas Mueller helped produce goals for Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa and Robert Lewandowski before he scored himself as Bayern got back to winning in the Bundesliga.

Bayern’s league record 10-game winning start ended in at Eintracht Frankfurt the previous weekend. Its 34 points from 12 games is a Bundesliga record.

“If we don’t win the treble, it’s a bad season,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.

Andre Schubert’s six-game winning start in charge of Borussia Moenchengladbach ended in a 0-0 draw with Ingolstadt.

Cologne defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 away. Wolfsburg also lost 2-0 at Mainz, Hoffenheim drew 0-0 with Eintracht Frankfurt, and Darmstadt drew 1-1 with Hamburger SV.

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FRANCE

Four days after suffering its first defeat of the season at Real Madrid in the Champions League, PSG increased its unbeaten run in the domestic competition to 22 matches.

Angel Di Maria opened the scoring before Ibrahimovic made it 2-0 in the 18th.

Lucas scored midway through the second half, Ibrahimovic got his second of the match in the 75th, and substitute Ezequiel Lavezzi finished off the rout.

With Lyon not hosting Saint-Etienne until Sunday, Caen moved provisionally into second spot after beating Guingamp 2-1.

Also, Montpellier beat Nantes 2-1 to escape the relegation zone. Lorient demolished last-place Troyes 4-1, Ajaccio won 2-1 at Reims, and Bastia drew 1-1 at Lille.

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SPAIN

Paco Alcacer and Dani Parejo scored twice each to lead Valencia to a much-needed 5-1 victory at third-place Celta Vigo.

Valencia’s first away win in the league in four outings came after a disappointing 1-0 loss at Ghent in the Champions League.

Celta wasted a chance to pull level on points with the top two teams in the league before leader Real Madrid and second-place Barcelona play on Sunday.

Also, Eibar remained in sixth place by beating Getafe 3-1 from two goals and a penalty earned by Sergi Enrich.

Javi Guerra scored twice as 10-man Rayo Vallecano edged Granada 2-1, Deportivo La Coruna drew 1-1 at bottom side Levante, and Real Betis downed Malaga 1-0.

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ITALY

AC Milan’s three-game winning streak was ended by Atalanta in a 0-0 draw at home in Serie A, though 16-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was crucial to the Rossoneri earning a point.

Donnaruma pulled off two stunning saves in quick succession about an hour in, parrying Luca Cigarini’s header before denying Alberto Grassi.

Bologna also won 2-0 at Hellas Verona.

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