Timely Hoarau puts PSG in charge

Two goals in the last ten minutes from Guillaume Hoarau earned Paris Saint-Germain FC a significant 2-0 advantage to take into the second leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie with VfL Wolfsburg.

Hoarau threat
The 1.92m-tall striker made his aerial prowess pay in the closing stages, breaking the deadlock with a header on 80 minutes and doubling the lead when he rose highest again soon after. That Hoarau came off the pitch complaining that he was "annoyed, because while I scored two I missed a lot" speaks volumes of a game the home side dominated at Parc des Princes; Wolfsburg have it all to do in Germany next Thursday.

Sarkozy support
Felix Magath's men can take heart from their first-half performance, however, as Sascha Riether, Josué and Sebastian Schindzielorz all had chances during a lively spell midway through the period. By then PSG, with French president Nicolas Sarkozy in the stands, had already sounded a warning of their own as Péguy Luyindula nodded Fabrice Pancrate's cross just wide. They should really have gone in for half-time ahead but Hoarau and Pancrate failed to convert presentable openings.

Missed chances
The lively Clément Chantôme tested goalkeeper Diego Benaglio after the restart as PSG picked up where they left off, pinning Wolfsburg inside their own half, even if the Bundesliga team remained a danger on the break. The match hung in the balance until ten minutes from time when Jérôme Rothen floated a pinpoint cross for Hoarau to guide in. The 24-year-old quickly doubled the advantage when he met Chantôme's corner with a powerful header and could have had a hat-trick but his shot came back off the upright. "It could have been three or four-nil," he lamented. Two-nil may be enough.