Paris Saint-Germain welcomed Ajax to the Parc des Princes seeking a victory to help further their ambitions of finishing in top spot of Champions League Group F.
The travelling Dutch side had the majority of possession throughout, but were undone by their own mistakes and some classy finishing from both Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who helped to push the Parisians to a 3-1 win.
Here, Sports Mole provides an analysis of how the action played out in the French capital.
Match statistics
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
Shots: 10
On target: 4
Possession: 48%
Corners: 4
Fouls:15
AJAX
Shots: 9
On target: 1
Possession: 52%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 14
Was the result fair?
Ajax will be kicking themselves as the amount and quality of possession they held at the Parc des Princes suggests that they should have at least got a point from this fixture. However, some slack play between defence and midfield has led to them losing out at the hands of a clinical PSG side. Laurent Blanc's men failed to do much in the way of carving out chances, but those that they were presented with were took with real class.
Paris Saint-Germain's performance
If it hadn't been for Ajax's inefficiency in the final third of the pitch, the Parisians might have been on the end of a loss tonight. Still, despite failing to control the midfield, both Cavani and Ibrahimovic showed enough quality to pull their side through this fixture. The two strikers proved to be the difference with adroit finishing and some smart movement. This performance might put the frighteners amongst some PSG fans, however, given that they were totally outclassed in the middle of the pitch, and this will need to be addressed going into the next round.
Ajax's performance
Despite missing out on the presence of some key players, Ajax took to this tie with aplomb. Apart from the blunders that led to the opening and closing goals, Frank De Boer's men showed both tenacity and technical ability in the middle of the pitch and had they had some sharper heads up front, they could have at least earned a point. The young Ricardo Kishna was a joy to behold, but he was one of few players to really take hold of the game in the final third of their opponent's half.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Zlatan Ibrahimovic:
The Swedish international was arguably the difference in this encounter. The frontman didn't have much to go by in the way of creative support from midfield, but he did make the most of everything that was presented to him. PSG's striker produced the killer ball for the first goal and showed pure brilliance to put his side back in front in the second half. The Parisians will welcome his return to action and he'll only get better with more minutes under his belt.
Biggest gaffe
Danish defender Niki Zimling will want to forget all about his impact tonight. The substitute looked shaky following his introduction and played a horrifically blind back-pass to gift Cavani his second goal and leave PSG running away with victory.
Referee performance
Matej Jug had a fairly quiet night, which probably indicates his control over the game. The referee had a few cards to hand out for some poor lunges, which he responded to instantly with punishments and worthwhile lectures. The official also showed expert patience not to deem Cavani offside despite his position in the first phase of play for the opening goal.
What next?
Paris Saint-Germain: PSG will go into their final Group F fixture against Barcelona now knowing that a draw will be enough to secure a first-place finish, setting them up comfortably for the next round. However, one point of concern will be in the midfield, with Ajax showing that the Parisians can potentially be rumbled. Blanc will have to do some work on ball retention, as well as working out how they can win things back a little quicker when facing sides who play possession football. That said, they showed tonight how dangerous they are even when they don't get much of the ball.
Ajax: De Boer's men showed a number of strong points this evening and will be confident of earning a place in the Europa League despite this defeat. Barcelona beat off APOEL this evening too, leaving the Dutch side needing just a draw in their final game to snatch a place in Europe's other showpiece tournament.
Christopher Dodd
