Paris (AFP)
After Belfort on Tuesday, his competitor in National 2 (4th division) Epinal awakened the magic of the Coupe de France on Wednesday by eliminating Lille (2-1), a severe misadventure for the seventh in Ligue 1 that Paris did not know SG, qualified in the quarterfinals after his victory at Pau (2-0).
Fans of Epinal and those of Belfort, who fell from Montpellier on Tuesday on penalties, will therefore act as an intruder in the next round among the Ligue 1 teams such as Rennes, Saint-Etienne, Dijon and Paris.
In the evening (9:05 p.m.), Marseille and Strasbourg will try to join this elite troop. And Nice and Lyon will fight for the last ticket on Thursday (8:55 p.m.).
In the Vosges, Lille coach Christophe Galtier had almost aligned his typical team, a winning entry formula thanks to a new achievement by Loïc Rémy (8th).
But Epinal, a National 2 club which had brought out the Reunionese from JS Saint-Pierroise in the previous round, did not give up. And his courage was rewarded in the second half with a double from Jean-Philippe Krasso (54th, 61st) in front of Mike Maignan, the French international goalkeeper.
- Paredes, captain and goalscorer -
In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, PSG did not fall into the trap of Pau (National), the team that had surprised Bordeaux in the next round.
Without Neymar left to rest, with Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappé kept on the bench, the Parisians have entrusted the keys of the game to Leandro Paredes, the 25-year-old defensive midfielder who arrived last winter from Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Designated captain of the evening, the Argentinian scored his first goal with the Paris jersey (25th), taking from the left a ball stored from the chest by Mauro Icardi. It was also him who initiated the goal of 2-0, scored by Pablo Sarabia (53rd).
The only bad news for Thomas Tuchel: the PSG coach lost his young defender Colin Dagba, injured a knee while tackling and left the field limping and grimacing in pain.
© 2020 AFP