Ibrahimovic should be fit to face Malmo, Blanc confirms

Laurent Blanc is confident that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be fit to face old club Malmo when Paris Saint-Germain get their Champions League campaign under way on Tuesday.

The Sweden star was rested for Friday’s draw with Bordeaux in order to boost his chances of lining up against the team where he began his career this week.

Ibrahimovic will face further tests at the end of PSG’s final training session, but Blanc is optimistic that the striker will be ready for selection.

“I think Ibra has a great chance to be in the group. We’ll see at the end of training,” he said. 

“We have to prepare for a great Champions League match. We prepare for games in the same way, regardless of the opponent.

“[On Tuesday] we have to feel the necessary pressure in order to win a home Champions League match. Our intention is to win.”

Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp’s costly error handed Bordeaux a dramatic equaliser on Friday, but his coach has given him his full backing.

“Trapp is a good goalkeeper, he made a mistake against Bordeaux but I hope that, next time, he’ll do better,” he said.

Midfielder Thiago Motta also refused to lay the blame solely on Trapp and has urged his side not to become complacent against the Swedish champions.

“Everyone can make mistakes, so you shouldn’t blame Kevin Trapp,” he said. “In football, when the collective works, it’s more difficult to make individual mistakes – and we made a lot of collective errors against Bordeaux.

“We have to be at 100 per cent to play against Malmo at get the three points.

“We’ll have to keep possession of the ball and not give them any chances.

“When the season starts, you always hope to go far in the Champions League. But we must think of the present.”