Paris Saint-Germain took on Malmo in Group A of the Champions League looking to get their European campaign off to a winning start on home soil.
New signing Angel di Maria got the Parisians off to a perfect start after four minutes, when the winger cut in behind the visiting defence to put his side in front.
Edinson Cavani doubled the hosts' lead in the second half, as they moved to close out a fairly comfortable 2-0 victory at the Parc des Princes.
Relive all of the action from the game with our minute-by-minute coverage below.
Good evening all and thank you for joining us as we bring you live coverage of Paris Saint-Germain's clash with visiting Malmo in Group A of the Champions League.
Will we finally get to see some European dividend from PSG after years of financial investment? We probably won't get many answers to that question tonight, but we could well see Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic come up against his first professional club.
This evening's game is of particular importance to PSG given that the other half of Group A consists of Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk. PSG have often faltered in previous campaigns by dropping sloppy points, and you would have to think that tonight presents the Parisians the chance with picking up three potentially vital ones on home soil.
PSG have a tidy record when facing Swedish opposition... The Paris-based outfit have never been beaten by a Swedish side, recording three wins and a draw across four fixtures.
Malmo come into this clash looking to overturn some rather poor form in Europe's leading showpiece. The club only managed three points in last season's group stage. Malmo have also lost seven of their last eight matches away from home in Europe.
Another interesting subplot that could develop at the Parc des Princes concerns home stopper Kevin Trapp. The keeper made two howlers against Bordeaux to throw away a two-goal lead. Will Laurent Blanc stick with his man tonight? We will soon see, team news is up next.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN STARTING XI: Trapp; Van der Wiel, Silva, Luiz, Maxwell; Motta, Verratti, Matuidi; Di Maria, Ibrahimovic, Cavani
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN SUBSTITUTES: Sirigu, Marquinhos, Kurzawa, Lucas, Rabiot, Pastore, Lavezzi
MALMO STARTING XI: Wiland; Tinnerholm, Bengtsson, Carvalho, Arnason, Yotun; Adu, Berget, Lewicki; Rosenberg, Djurdjic
MALMO SUBSTITUTES: Andersson, Vindheim, Rakip, Molins, Eikrem, Rodic, Sana
So we have confirmation of the big news that Zlatan will start against his former club. He will be partnered in attack by fellow frontmen Edinson Cavani and Angel di Maria. PSG's front-three are to be supported by a midfield inclusive of Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi. Blanc has opted to stick with under-fire keeper trap, while Thiago Silva and David Luiz make up the centre-back pairing in front of him.
As for the visitors, they are to lead with a forwarding line of Nikola Durdic and Markus Rosenberg. Sitting behind them as part of a midfield-three will be Oscar Lewicki, Enoch Kofi Adu and Jo Inge Berget, leaving the away side to operate with a five-man defensive inclusive of two wing backs.
Ibrahimovic makes his return to the PSG side after injury, and it could be a welcome return for the forward following the club's unforeseeable draw with Bordeaux at the weekend. PSG made some silly errors during last year's group stages and were made to pay by finishing second in their group behind Barcelona. They will be hoping they can put the easier game to bed tonight given that they face some tough challenges elsewhere this year.
Despite everything going against Malmo tonight, the Swedish club do have a strong record against French opponents on nights like these. As it stands, FF have strung three successive cleansheets together against teams from France in European competitions.
It will be interesting to witness Di Maria's return to the European topflight tonight too. The Argentine playmaker missed out last year after deciding to move to Manchester United. He will surely be looking to leave his mark on the game after being away from the competition for a year.
Does Blanc bank on him as being the man to help change the club's European fortunes? As we know, PSG have been eliminated the past three seasons at the quarter-final stage and have not reached the last four of the Champions League since the 1994-95 campaign.
Malmo go up against PSG off the back of a rather frustrating start to the new domestic campaign. They drew 1-1 at home to Elfsborg at the weekend to drop into fifth place in the Allsvenskan, leaving Age Hareide's side sitting nine points adrift of leaders IFK Goteborg after 23 games.
Despite not doing too well in recent years, PSG do still lead a light for France in European competitions. The club is taking part in their eighth Champions League campaign, including their fourth in a row. Only Lyon and Marseille have more appearances in the tournament among France's professional teams.
Regardless of that frustrating draw against Bordeaux, Blanc's charges have started the Ligue 1 campaign in impressive fashion. Ignoring the draw, they have won all four of their other league fixtures this term.
It appears as though young midfielder Verratti is starting to come into his own, expect him to play an important role in marshalling the hosts' midfield tonight. Javier Pastore also makes his return to the bench tonight, alongside new signing Layvin Kurzawa. When you look away from the club's major names and towards their youngster, you get the sense that this PSG squad is starting to look like what could be a formidable force in the future.
Malmo will not be short of confidence on the European stage tonight, given their recent comeback over Celtic to earn a place in this tournament. They had originally trailed 3-2 after the first leg, but Rosenberg inspired them to a 2-0 victory on home soil to present them with safe passage into Europe's leading competition.
Much of the talk at PSG this summer has surrounded the future of Ibrahimovic and the arrival of Di Maria. Well what about Cavani? The frontman has been PSG's main threat at the start of this campaign after collecting five goals already this season. Malmo are going to need to be incredibly careful against him tonight, not to mention the hosts' other attacking options.
Matuidi has got forward effectively for the home side already this campaign to collect two goals for the club. He will be another creative threat that Malmo will need to either man-mark or press heavily tonight.
Malmo fans are in strong attendance this evening, here's a clip from earlier in the day of the away fans arriving at the Parc des Princes:
#PSGMAL Les fans de Malmö arrivent au Parc des Princes... pic.twitter.com/XMMs52IFsS
— Fred Azilazian (@UEFAcomFredA) September 15, 2015
We are now just under 10 minutes away from kickoff in Paris and it is time that we made a prediction. PSG have probably got a bit too much for the visitors. With that frontline of Di Maria, Cavani and Ibrahimovic, it is hard to see much beyond the hosts running riot tonight. We are going to give it 4-0 in favour of Blanc's men... Let's hope Malmo can prove us wrong and put up some sort of resistance.
For fans of images and what not, here is something from PSG's English Twitter feed showcasing the stadium earlier on tonight:
Live from the Parc des Princes #PSGMAL pic.twitter.com/55oOAgApno
— PSG English (@PSG_English) September 15, 2015
The players are now out on the pitch as we run through the Champions League anthem. Malmo are featuring in a light blue strip, while PSG don their a black third kit. The hosts will get us underway...
KICKOFF! PSG get things moving by knocking the ball around midfield. It moves to Di Maria down the right flank, but his cross is forced out of the box as Malmo are put under the cosh straight away.
The hosts get their first corner of the game, but Malmo stand strong and head away at the first time of asking. They seek to move the ball straight down the PSG end, however Silva is on hand to cut out the pass and reignite another home foray forward.
PSG are finding heaps of space already down the right hand side, leaving Di Maria to push forward unchallenged. The ball is worked back to Verratti, whose final ball is a good one into Ibrahimovic but the striker is flagged for offside.
GOAL! PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 1-0 MALMO (Angel di Maria)
That did not take long, then. A simple ball is switched from the centre of midfield in behind the Malmo defence. Di Maria has the pace to get on the end of it, and he pushes forward before opening up his body to curl into the top corner and record his first goal for the club. The visitors could not have wished for a worse start.
Malmo are looking for passing options, but PSG are putting real pressure on them now. The hosts win the ball back with relative ease and Di Maria seeks to lead another counter, but he is soon ruled offside for his run in behind down the right.
PSG know their drill, they just keep pressing and pressing when out of possession until they win the ball back. Malmo get their first chance to move forward down the left, although Tinnerholm's cross is too deep and the Parisians soon clear any danger.
Luiz senses the run of Matuidi from deep, and he cuts a big swooping ball over the centre-backs for the midfielder. There is just a tad too much on the pass, leaving Wiland to come out and claim unchallenged.
Malmo seem to have established their own pressing routine, but it does not look like the right option against a PSG side with abundant talent. The game has slowed down a touch after a blistering start, PSG perhaps just looking to settle into a passing game going forward.
CHANCE! PSG stretch the game beautifully out to Van der Wiel on the right, and he picks up Ibrahimovic first time with a good ball into the centre of the box. The striker climbs highest, but sends a tame head over the crossbar with just the goalkeeper to beat. The Parisians should be two ahead, really...
CLOSE! Di Maria and Ibrahimovic work well together this time, leaving the former Manchester United man to find his strike partner with a ball in behind. The Swede collects with ease, although his shot is a tame one and is easily held by Wiland in the Malmo goal.
CHANCE! More of the same now as Di Maria switches a raking ball across the pitch and in behind to find the forward run of Zlatan. The striker brings it down calmly on his chest, but cannot get the shot away as he is quickly closed down by Wiland.
Di Maria has been a major threat in this opening period. He makes his way out to the left side of the pitch before delivering a clever whipped cross into the box. Unfortunately none of his teammates decide to gamble and the visitors hoof away to relative safety.
Malmo are being stretched to all parts of the world... Ibrahimovic bursts forward with another adroit run to get beyond his marker, only to be undone by a questionable call from the linesman for offside. That was close!
Di Maria appears a different player already to the one seen at Old Trafford. Maybe because Blanc has played him in a wide role? He has taken to his task with aplomb and is already running at players and using his pace to great advantage. Malmo look like a rabbit caught in the headlights at the moment.
Rosenberg has the ball in the net after getting past David Luiz and Thiago Silva. For some strange reason, though, the Malmo man is penalised for a foul on the pair. That looked clumsy from the Parisian centre-backs, they could have come unstuck on another night.
CLOSE! It does not look long before PSG find another. Van der Wiel is given another chance to deliver from the right and he picks out Verratti. The midfielder adjusts his feet well before shifting the ball towards goal. Thankfully for the visitors, a defender gets a touch and the attempt loses all pace.
CHANCE! Another ball into the area finds Ibrahimovic, leaving the forward to head down smartly into the centre of the area. Matuidi is left free to have a swing, but makes a total air shot and falls over. That would be funny if it was not so alarming for Malmo.
CLOSE! When are Malmo going to learn? Di Maria is given too much space on the edge of the box, leaving the Argentine to curl a wonderful effort towards the top corner. It looks like it might have taken a deflection as the ball flies just wide of goal.
CHANCE! End to end now... Malmo move the ball quickly into the path of Djurdjic, who has too much strength and pace for Van der Wiel. He beats his man before sending a flashed drive across the goal from a tight angle. Almost for the away side...
Carvalho makes a blistering run down the right to get the better of Matuidi who is left for dead. He slips a pass into the path of Djurdjic, although PSG get across well to clear through Van der Wiel.
The home side are completely dominant at the moment, but Malmo have given us a few signs that they could cause problems on the counter. Di Maria finds space this time, before sending a ball in for Cavani. The frontman does not quite have the legs to reach it, but PSG are continuing to stretch Malmo at will.
Djurdjic shows more positive signals for the visitors as he holds up well in front of the PSG defence. Luiz is perhaps too eager to challenge and gives away a needless free kick. The delivery finds Rosenberg in the middle, who cannot guide his headed effort on target under extreme pressure from two PSG defenders.
Arnason is the eager beaver this time and he brings down Cavani on the edge of the Malmo box. Ibrah territory, this! The frontman steps up to deliver a curling effort that flies just a little too high of the visitors' goal. Close but no cigar for the Swede.
PSG almost turn the screw right before the break! The ball is moved once more into the path of Van der Wiel on the right, and he sends a flashed ball into the box. There are a few competing heads in the area, although Wiland comes out to clear for the corner.
HALF TIME: PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 1-0 MALMO
Di Maria's first goal for the club sees PSG leading 1-0 at the break. The hosts have been in pretty much complete control in the first half, leaving Malmo to threaten occasionally with the odd counter.
Blanc will be pleased with what he has seen so far on home soil. Di Maria, Ibrahimovic and Cavani have linked up cleverly already, and the hosts should really be more than just one goal to the good. Malmo will not be too disheartened given that they have caused one or two issues when the ball has been lumped forward with a chasing attacker.
Di Maria has been the star performer thus far and he appears to be 10 times the player we saw last season at United. He has troubled Malmo with his pace, direct running and skill on both flanks.
Ibrahimovic has come up short two or three times tonight as he seeks to bag a goal against his former club. If PSG keep creating at this rate, he should find at least one before the night is out.
Here is a shot from the match as Di Maria celebrates his first goal for PSG with his teammates:
© Getty Images
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As you might have predicted, PSG have dominated possession with 69% of the ball in the first period. Blanc's men have made 21 dangerous attacks and produced eight attempts on goal.
The home side's passing has been impressive thus far, with PSG putting together 427 successful balls. The hosts will want more of that in the second period as they look to put this game to bed with another goal or two.
SUBSTITUTION: The players are now moving back out onto the pitch. For Malmo they will want a few more troubling balls forward, but will need to make sure that they do not come unstuck in defence. Vladimir Rodic has now been introduced for Carvalho, meaning that the away side will now switch to four at the back.
KICKOFF! Malmo move the ball forward quickly, before being challenge by the PSG back-line. The visitors win a throw in a good position, which is eventually seen away by Verratti.
CHANCE! PSG launch the counter with Di Maria who skins the visitors' defence before sliding into the path of Cavani out on the left. The striker tries an effort first time to send a terrible shot high and wide of the Malmo goal. What a waste.
More fantastic work from the home side's frontline sees Di Maria lob forward for Cavani. The forward brings it down before producing a back-heel for Ibrahimovic, who is eventually challenged at the vital moment inside the Malmo box.
SAVE! Ibrahimovic robs Yotun on the edge of the area, allowing Di Maria to steal in. He picks out a curling shot towards the far corner, where he finds Windal sprawling to make a save and push his effort around the post for a corner.
Rodic tries to force his way into the game with some intelligent use of the ball inside the PSG area. The visitors win a throw in a dangerous area, but it comes to nothing when the hosts defend valiantly and head away.
PSG show some patient possession play down in the left corner to keep the ball in an attacking position. There is no way through at the moment so they work things back into their own half. Malmo press well and steal the leather, but surrender their own share when Verratti comes up good.
YELLOW CARD! Adu goes into the book for a poor challenge on Verratti as the PSG man sought to shift the ball away on the counter.
CLOSE! Maxwell finds some space on the left hand side of the pitch, and he moves unchallenged inside the area. He picks out the far corner, but is thwarted by a good diving save from Windal down low.
At the hour mark there has not been much to mention so far in the second period. PSG have dropped off their tempo from the first half and seem to be content shifting the ball around to keep possessional dominance.
GOAL! PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 2-0 MALMO (Edinson Cavani)
Maybe not! Just as I say that, the ball is whipped into the box from the left by Maxwell where Cavani rises higher than his marker to head past Windal at almost point-blank range. He could not have really missed that chance, to be honest. It looks as though Ibrah got a vital flick-on there.
SAVE! Neat one-touch stuff sees PSG slice through the Malmo defence, leaving Zlatan free to strike towards the left side of the area. The goal looks gaping, but somehow Windal recovers to turn the Swede's strong shot wide of the post.
Rodic gets the chance again to work something around the PSG box. He senses that he has very few options around him, and instead opts for a speculative long-range effort. As you might have guessed, it flies high and wide without troubling Trapp in the home goal.
SAVE! It's almost three for PSG now, but Windal pulls off a memorable reflex save to deny Luiz, who leapt highest from a corner to bullet a header towards the Malmo goal. That was a truly wonderful save from the keeper, who has produced a few decent stops tonight.
You get the idea that PSG are playing much of this game without really having to push into anything beyond second gear. Di Maria moves down the right now before finding Van der Wiel. He has players waiting inside the area, but sends in a tame ball that fails to threaten.
YELLOW CARD! Luiz gets a little too physical on Djurdjic before going into the referee's book.
Much of the early excitement has slipped out of this fixture as PSG now attempt to just keep the ball moving around in circles in the midfield. Malmo do not look like they are able to get back into the game at the moment.
SUBSTITUTION: Ibrahimovic is replaced for Javier Pastore as the chance passes for Zlatan to record on home soil against his boyhood club.
Malmo step off their pressing game for a moment and it presents Verratti with the chance to get forward in space. He has very few options and tries something from distance, leaving his shot to fly past the wrong side of the post.
SAVE! Djurdjic has not given up hope on igniting a comeback as he produces a step-over inside the before thrashing a shot down low towards Trapp. It takes a slight deflection off his marker and produces a good save from the PSG keeper.
Di Maria seeks a second with a run down the right. He eventually cuts in to curl an effort straight down the throat of Windal, who makes a comfortable save in the centre of his goal. PSG might just get another before this game is out.
More patience is shown in the middle of the pitch from PSG, who eventually thread it forward through Pastore. Malmo shift across and clear their own lines, only for the hosts to soon win back the ball and begin circulating possession again. Total control from Blanc's men in the closing moments!
SUBSTITUTION: Di Maria comes off in place of Ezequiel Lavezzi, while Malmo replace Adu with Erdal Rakip.
Rosenberg continues to put in the hard yards for the visitors, but he delivers a tame cross out of play with Djurdjic waiting patiently in the centre of the PSG area.
CLOSE! Lavezzi shows great pace to break in behind the Malmo defence, although he is ruled out for offside despite the quality of Pastore's through-ball from the middle of the pitch. Replays show that the Argentine has been hard done by there.
More good forward play from the hosts nearly comes up trumps, this time as Motta slips in a neat pass into the path of Matuidi. The midfielder is eventually tackled by his marker with just the keeper in front of him, and then looks over to see the linesman with his flag raised.
Two minutes of additional time here...
FULL TIME: PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 2-0 MALMO
So PSG open their European account with a comfortable victory on home soil thanks to goals from Di Maria and Cavani. They simply had too much for Malmo at the Parc des Princes. That is going to be all from me this evening, goodnight!
