Angel Di Maria scores first PSG goal in Champions League win against Malmo

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:13 am

Angel Di Maria opened his account for Paris Saint-Germain as they began their Champions League Group A campaign with a 2-0 victory over Malmo.

The former Manchester United winger's last club goal came at Huish Park in an FA Cup tie against Yeovil on Jan. 4, but he ended that eight-month wait to find the net just four minutes into Tuesday's game in the French capital.

Edinson Cavani then headed in his fifth goal in his past three games to give the Ligue 1 giants a winning start in a group that also contains 10-times European champions Real Madrid.

PSG wasted little time in trying to establish their dominance, and their first attack produced a goal for their marquee summer signing from Old Trafford as Malmo's high line was punished.

Marco Verratti stabbed the ball on to the right flank where Di Maria raced on to it, moved into the box and lifted a delicious shot into the top corner of Johan Wiland's goal.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, playing against his hometown club and the team where his career began, nearly added a second in the 20th minute in a move where Di Maria featured heavily.

PSG eased to a win over Zlatan Ibrahimovic's former club Malmo on Tuesday.
Jean-Sebastein Evrard/AFP/Getty Images

The Argentinian picked out the Sweden international with a back-post cross, and Ibrahimovic took the ball down with his chest but was unable to prod it beyond international colleague Wiland as he advanced.

Nikola Djurdjic went close to levelling matters prior to the break after nudging Gregory van der Wiel off the ball, but fired across Kevin Trapp's goal.

Laurent Blanc's home side were struggling to find a second goal, but it came eventually on the hour mark courtesy of Cavani.

Ibrahimovic was involved in the attack down the left which created the chance, shifting the ball to Maxwell before applying a trademark back-heeled flick from the full-back's cross to guide the ball on to Cavani, whose downward header beat Wiland.

The 34-year-old goalkeeper denied David Luiz a third by tipping the centre-back's header wide after Di Maria's corner had found the ex-Chelsea defender.

Substitute Ezequiel Lavezzi thought he had then added a third goal in the final moments following a one-two with Blaise Matuidi, yet the celebrations in the Parc des Princes proved premature as an offside Cavani was positioned directly in front of Wiland.