Paris St Germain vs St Etienne - Blanc keeps faith in off-form Ibrahimovic

Posted Saturday, October 24, 2015 by PA

Paris St Germain coach Laurent Blanc is set to show faith in under-fire striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic after his lacklustre Champions League display against Real Madrid.

Ibrahimovic was off the pace as Real held PSG to a goalless draw in Paris on Wednesday night and the media were not slow to criticise the performance of the Swedish veteran.

But Blanc is ready to back the club's record goalscorer as Ligue 1 leaders PSG return to domestic action at home to St Etienne on Sunday evening.

"I would have liked it if we had had more attacking power, but as a coach I am optimistic." Blanc said after the Real stalemate.

"It's up to us to ensure that all the players, whether it's Zlatan or the others, might be in the best of form in the very near future.

"You have to make do with the guys who are playing - those who are in difficulty and those who are lacking fitness."

Ibrahimovic had been in fine form before drawing a blank against Real.

The 34-year-old had scored six goals in his four previous games for club and country, including the double over Marseille which had made him the French champions' all-time leading scorer and another brace in last weekend's 2-0 league victory at Bastia.

"Yes I have the choice of not putting him in the starting XI - to give him two weeks off too," Blanc said of Ibrahamovic.

"But I also have the choice of encouraging him, to work with him, whether it's him or another player, so that he can be at his best level when he needs to be."

While Blanc has warned the league is a "marathon", PSG have looked pretty much invincible on the domestic front this season in winning eight and drawing two of their 10 matches.

St Etienne are PSG's next test at the Parc des Princes with Les Verts occupying fourth place, seven points behind the leaders.

Christophe Galtier's side ended a three-game losing streak in all competitions by beating bottom-placed Gazelec Ajaccio 2-0 last weekend, and they followed that up with a 1-0 away win over Dnipro in the Europa League on Thursday.

"It was important because it gives us hope again and victories bring a lot of confidence," Galtier said at his post-match press conference in Ukraine.

"This one validates the work and the discussions we have had but we always have that ambition to win.

"Sunday's opponent is one of the best teams in Europe, but I hope that we will cause them problems."

PSG are again without David Luiz who missed the Real game with a knee injury he picked up on international duty with Brazil, while St Etienne have problems in midfield with Benjamin Corgnet, Jeremy Clement and Renaud Cohade all ruled out.