Ibrahimovic double sends PSG top of Ligue 1

PARIS (Reuters) - Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to top form in timely fashion, netting a double to help Paris St Germain beat Nantes 2-1 as the French champions claimed top spot in Ligue 1 on Saturday. Sweden striker Ibrahimovic, back from a lengthy injury layoff, scored either side of the interval after Nantes had opened the scoring early on through Alejandro Bedoya. PSG, unbeaten in 23 competitive games this season, have 37 points from 17 games and lead Olympique de Marseille by two points before their arch rivals host Metz on Sunday. They travel to Barcelona on Wednesday for a Champions League Group F finale, knowing that avoiding defeat would help them clinch top spot. For Saturday's game at the Parc des Princes, key players Edinson Cavani, Blaise Matuidi, Maxwell, David Luiz and Gregory van der Wiel started on the bench as coach Laurent Blanc looked to spare them ahead of the Camp Nou clash. Nantes went ahead on eight minutes when Bedoya unleashed a 25-metre missile that went into Salvatore Sirigu's top corner. PSG's Marco Verratti was lucky to escape a red card for a violent tackle in the 11th minute. In the 34th, Ibrahimovic latched onto Lucas's perfect cross from the right to equalise. He made it two four minutes into the second half with a thunderbolt 25-metre free kick. PSG had other chances to put the result beyond doubt but Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lucas and Lucas Digne were all too clumsy. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by Justin Palmer)