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Blanc praises strike duo as Paris aim for first

Laurent Blanc hailed scorers Edinson Cavani and fit-again Zlatan Ibrahimović, who is already looking forward to visiting FC Barcelona after beating AFC Ajax 3-1.

Zlatan Ibrahimović restores Paris' lead
Zlatan Ibrahimović restores Paris' lead ©AFP/Getty Images

Laurent Blanc applauds Zlatan Ibrahimović and Edinson Cavani after Paris beat Ajax 3-1
Ibrahimović speaks about his return to fitness as Paris stay top of Group F
Frank de Boer describes it as a "frustrating night" for his eliminated team
Next games: Barcelona v Paris, Ajax v APOEL (10 December)

Laurent Blanc, Paris coach
There are different ways you can look at this match. We faced a team who played much better football than us tonight, but they lacked efficiency. On the other hand, we were very lethal, so it's no surprise we scored three goals. It's the second time we've dominated in the statistics [after the draw at Ajax], but it's up to us to produce a good result when that happens.

We have players who can score a lot of goals – two in particular. They will always score goals throughout their careers, even if sometimes there's a bit of a drought. They have goals in them. Paris Saint-Germain are lucky to have Edinson Cavani, and I won't even mention Zlatan Ibrahimović! By playing together, they can score even more goals. No matter where the assist comes from, the important thing is that they score, that's a forward's job. Tonight they did their jobs.

Zlatan Ibrahimović, Paris forward
It was a difficult game. We played against a team who play very good football and are very good with the ball. They like to keep possession and play. We were ready for it, though. We waited until they lost the ball and then we punished them. We scored three goals and won the game.

We took three points but at the same time I think we can do much more. To score a goal is good for my confidence, of course, but the most important thing is to be 100% fit. I haven't been able to train for two months. I need to play games to find my rhythm and play the way I can.

First place in the group is important for us, and it's also important for Barcelona. The next game is going to be a great game, with a little bit of prestige.

David Luiz, Paris defender
Ajax are a fantastic team with a fantastic philosophy and many talented players. They play amazing football and they played another great game tonight. They always follow their philosophy, and with experience they can improve year by year.

It was a difficult match. They kept possession well. We will fight for first position at Barcelona now. We want to qualify in first place, so we'll do our best. It's very important to finish top because it leaves you in a better position for the future.

Frank de Boer, Ajax coach
There's a lot of frustration tonight. We can play much better than we did, and be better in the build-up. We made too many mistakes and we gave away too many avoidable fouls. It's very frustrating – even more so as we made a good start to the second half. It's just a shame that all that went to waste after that.

We were well placed in the first half, and also in the second. Maybe they had lapses of concentration sometimes, but it was our quality which prevailed – we were only missing the final ball. If we can play like that in a game against teams like Barcelona and Paris, we can cause anyone problems.

Ajax celebrate Davy Klaassen's goal
Ajax celebrate Davy Klaassen's goal©AFP/Getty Images

Lasse Schöne, Ajax midfielder
We had lots of possession but didn't create a lot of chances. We needed to be more dangerous because we know the quality Paris have in attack. They only need half a chance and they can score.

We absolutely want to finish third and play in the Europa League. The last game against APOEL will be very difficult, but we'll be playing at home and we're ready to give everything.

Jasper Cillessen, Ajax goalkeeper
We made some stupid mistakes and they got chances from them. We had the better possession, but we didn't create chances. I'm not satisfied with our performance because we kept possession without really threatening. We needed to play the ball forward to score but we couldn't put pressure on them.

We hoped to punish them at 1-1, but then Zlatan scored a great goal. We made a mistake afterwards and lost the game. They had four chances and scored three times – that was the big difference between Paris and us.

We knew that if we won here today we would be almost safe [in third place]. Now we have to win or at least not lose in Amsterdam, so we're going to do that.