The penalty shootout tipped over a failure from Montpellier side Ristic, whose shot was stopped by Pau Lopez.

Then it was Payet who sealed Marseille's qualification by succeeding in his shot in front of the empty South Bend, but who had dedicated a vast tifo to him where he was crowned "The King".

Previously, the game had not been exciting enough to make us forget the pre-match, which had been marked by a spectacular surprise in the composition of the Marseille team with the new absences of Milik and Mandanda.

The tactical choice to play without N.9 is now quite recurrent, but that of leaving Mandanda on the bench really surprised when the French world champion had played the two previous rounds of the Cup and Pau Lopez had been sick this week.

Sampaoli doesn't care about the statutes, the result proved him right and the goal scored by Milik will sweeten his evening.

But 48 hours from the end of the transfer window, files that seemed closed may reopen.

As often, Marseille therefore clearly dominated in the game, against Montpellier handicapped by very many and significant absences (Germain, Mavididi, Savanier, Ferri...).

Marseillais Arkadiusz Milik (c) congratulated by his teammates after his goal against Montpellier in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, January 29, 2022 at the Stade Vélodrome Nicolas TUCAT AFP

OM set up their position and possession game, seeming to be ready for a 1,000-pass evening, the absence of opposing pressure allowing Pau Lopez to play balls into the central circle.

Tuesday in Lyon

The Provençaux had a few chances, in particular by Under with a good strike (8th) or on a nice free kick from Payet (36th).

Just before the break, it was then Guendouzi who should have put OM in the lead, but the midfielder came up against Bertaud closely.

Apart from a shot without any danger from Sambia (29th), Montpellier had then tried almost nothing on his side and the animation on the Hérault side only came from each pass from Sakho, a former Parisian as much as a Montpellier resident and therefore whistled on each ball.

Montpellier's Mihailo Ristic fouls Marseille's Dimitri Payet in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, January 29, 2022 at the Stade Vélodrome Nicolas TUCAT AFP

Marseille's superiority remained evident after the break, with an avalanche of corners, a few more or less dangerous strikes (Payet in the 60th, Under in the 67th) and the entries of Milik and Bakambu to give more offensive weight to the whole .

The Pole thus managed to open the scoring after a rush from Guendouzi and a mess in the area (1-0, 74th) and, a quarter of an hour from the end, we thought the deal was done.

But on a long ball from Sakho, Makouana took the best first on Caleta-Car then on Pau Lopez, both off-time on the action, to offer a penalty shootout to the Héraultais (1-1 , 80th).

She smiled at OM, who will therefore play the quarter-finals in ten days.

But Saturday's victory also sends Marseille to Lyon on Tuesday to play the famous match to be replayed between the two teams.

With a victory, OM would take 2nd place in the championship on their own and their season would look even better.

© 2022 AFP