French Ligue 1
Result: Nice 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Date: 04 December 2015
Venue: Allianz Riviera
Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagged a brace to inspire Paris Saint-Germain to a 3-0 win over OGC Nice at the Allianz Riviera.
Hatem Ben Arfa was looking to Nice the lead after 11 minutes, as he did well to skip past Thiago Motta, before firing horribly wide from close range.
PSG nearly went ahead two minutes later when Angel Di Maria picked out Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the box, but the Swedish striker was denied by a fine save from Cardinale.
The visitors squandered another chance in the 21st minute when Serge Aurier's flick-on fell to Ibrahimovic, who blazed over the crossbar from eighth-yards out.
The defending champions eventually broke the deadlock in the 35th minute, as Ibrahimovic and Blasie Matuidi combined well, before the former teed up Edison Cavani for the easy tap-in.
PSG were then awarded a penalty on the stroke of halftime when Niklas Hult brought down Cavani in the box. Ibrahimovic stepped up to convert the spot-kick, while Hult was shown a straight red card for the challenge.
Cardinale came to Nice's rescue five minutes into the second half, as he pulled off a fine save to keep out Ibrahimovic's header destined for the far corner.
Thiago Motta had a moment to forget in the 55th minute, as the Italian international headed over the crossbar from point-blank range.
It got better for Laurent Blanc's side in the 61st minute, as Ibrahimovic collected a pass from Di Maria, before firing home at Cardinale's near post.
Blanc then decided to make two changes for the final 15 minutes, as he brought on Ezequiel Lavezzi and Lucas for Motta and Ibrahimovic.
The score remained 3-0 at the full-time whistle, as PSG maintained their unbeaten run and are now 16 points ahead of second place, Caen.
PSG are now unbeaten in their last 26 Ligue 1 encounters, while they last suffered defeat in March against Bordeaux.
