Paris Saint-Germain’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (R) celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. (AFP)

AFP/Paris


Zlatan Ibrahimovic set another record as Paris Saint-Germain finished their Champions League pool phase on a positive note in beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
Brazilian Lucas Moura broke the deadlock on 57 minutes before record goalscorer Ibrahimovic set the seal on their group A victory with the second four minutes from time. But with Real Madrid thumping Malmo 8-0 in Spain, PSG finished three points back in second and risk a tough draw in the last 16 where the likes of champions Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City lurk.
“The draw will be important and like all the other second-place finishers we want to avoid the two favourites for the competition (Barca and Bayern),” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc.
“The group phase has been very good and maybe what gave me most satisfaction was the match we produced at Real Madrid, despite the defeat.”
The main bonus for Paris was seeing Ibrahimovic break another record, becoming the club’s top goalscorer of all time in European competitions, eclipsing Liberian great George Weah with his 17th strike.
That ensured a party atmosphere in the French capital despite Ibrahimovic’s finish from Lucas’s pass more dribbling into the net rather than bursting it.
It had otherwise been an insipid performance from the French champions, whose qualification for the last 16 as group runners-up had already been assured two weeks ago with a 5-0 win at Malmo. The fans were briefly awakened by Lucas’s rasping drive just before the hour mark to open the scoring. What will most be occupying the minds of PSG supporters now, though, is Monday’s knock-out stage draw in Nyon, Switzerland.

PSV reach last 16 after Propper pops up with late goal
Eindhoven: PSV Eindhoven recovered to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 and secure a place in the Champions League last 16 after a late winner from midfielder Davy Propper in their Group B clash on Tuesday.
Proper struck on the run from the edge of the area in the 86th minute, six minutes after Luuk de Jong had revived home hopes with his 19th goal of the season. They had gone behind to Sergei Ignashevich’s penalty in the 76th.
The win left PSV in second place on 10 points behind group winners VfL Wolfsburg, who have 12 after winning 3-2 at home to Manchester United. The English club finished on eight points and have been relegated to the second-tier Europa League.
PSV, who knew they would qualify with a win if United failed to beat Wolfsburg, are the first Dutch club to reach the Champions League knockout stage in the last eight years. CSKA finished bottom with four points from their six games.