ıbrahimović sets record as paris see off shakhtar published: tuesday 8 december 2015, 22.40cet paris 2-0 shakhtar donetsk second-half strikes from lucas and zlatan ıbrahimović, the latter setting a new club record, secured the points as the visitors move into the uefa europa league. by chris burke from parc des princes
group a runners-up paris triumph despite missing a raft of regular starters lucas breaks deadlock on 57 minutes with fine low strike zlatan ıbrahimović becomes paris's record scorer in europe late on shakhtar hold on to third place and transfer to uefa europa league the round of 16 draw takes place at 12.00cet on 14 december
group a runners-up paris saint-germain signed off on a positive note by defeating shakhtar donetsk, who nonetheless move into the uefa europa league.
the stakes were low for paris after sealing their spot in the last 16 on matchday five, but laurent blanc's much-changed side began with their typical desire to get forward, lucas testing anton kanibolotskiy early on and zlatan ıbrahimović lobbing over after the shakhtar goalkeeper had presented him with the ball in the area.
not intimidated by a paris lineup lacking the likes of ángel di maría, edinson cavani and thiago silva, the pitmen were digging away too. eduardo narrowly missed the target early on before home goalkeeper kevin trapp had to come a long way out to thwart a counterattack, while dario srna was able to send in numerous crosses from the right.
that early burst of activity promised more than it could deliver, and the first half ended with both sides probing but making little headway. nevertheless, the pace quickly picked up after the restart, gregory van der wiel firing just wide and lucas making the breakthrough on 57 minutes. found by ıbrahimović in too much space on the edge of the area, the brazil forward slotted low and crisply into the far corner.
kanibolotskiy responded with saves to deny blaise matuidi and ezequiel lavezzi, while ıbrahimović rolled a shot wide on the break. the sweden captain made no such mistake after being freed by lucas, though, finishing low to become paris's all-time leading scorer in europe. as for shakhtar, malmö's heavy defeat in madrid secured them third place in the section.
key player: lucas the young brazilian found the net in malmö last time out and made the difference with an excellent finish after some less assured moments in the first period. he added to his second-half turnaround with the assist for ıbrahimović's goal.
new landmark for ıbrahimović the records seem to keep tumbling for zlatan ıbrahimović at the moment after he became paris's leading scorer in ligue 1 history at the weekend, and he can now pride himself on being their all-time top marksman in europe. his moment came late, but he has now surpassed george weah on 17 goals.
solid at the back paris made sure to end the group stage with the competition's tightest defence after keeping their fifth clean sheet in six outings. layvin kurzawa, gregory van der wiel and marquinhos were all filling in for more regular colleagues, but they and david luiz did more than enough to restrict paris's 'goals against' column to a single strike.
