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Tag: French Cup

  • PSG crush 10-man Lyon to reach French Cup final

    Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain thrashed 10-man Olympique Lyonnais 5-1 on Wednesday to reach the French Cup final and remain on course for a domestic treble.

    Ligue 1 leaders PSG, who will also face Lyon in the League Cup final, prevailed thanks to Mbappe’s treble and goals by Neymar and Pablo Sarabia after Martin Terrier had put the hosts in front early on.

    Lyon finished with 10 men after Fernando Marcal was sent off in the 61st minute for picking up a second yellow card, leaving his team to exposed with the scores level at 1-1.

    PSG will take on holders Stade Rennais or St Etienne at the Stade de France on April 25.

    Terrier put the hosts ahead on 11 minutes when he latched onto Karl Toko-Ekambi’s pass.

    Mbappe equalised three minutes later by deflecting in Layvin Kurzawa’s header for his 28th PSG goal of the season in all competitions.

    Marcal’s handball earned PSG a penalty and the Brazilian defender his second yellow card.

    Neymar converted the spot kick and Mbappe took advantage of PSG’s extra man by adding a third at the end of a dazzling 60-metre run.

    Sarabia rubbed salt in Lyon’s wounds with a fourth from close range and his seventh in the competition this season – before Mbappe rounded it off with another goal in stoppage time.

  • PSG hammer Dijon to reach French Cup semi-finals

    PSG hammer Dijon to reach French Cup semi-finals

    Paris St Germain’s Pablo Sarabia scored twice as they swept past Dijon and into the semi-finals of the French Cup with a 6-1 win on Wednesday.

    Lying in 17th position in Ligue 1, hosts Dijon were facing an uphill struggle when Wesley Lautoa turned the ball into his own net in the first minute.

    But Mounir Chouiar got his side back on level terms 12 minutes later.

    League leaders PSG illustrated the gulf in class towards the end of the first half as Kylian Mbappe restored their advantage.

    Defender Thiago Silva struck a third five minutes into the second half.

    Spaniard Sarabia increased PSG’s lead in the 56th minute as the home side’s challenge fell apart.

    Dijon defender Senou Coulibaly scored another own goal in the 86th minute before a stoppage-time Sarabia effort completed the rout.

    Olympique Lyonnais hosted Olympique Marseille in their quarter-final later on Wednesday.

  • PSG reach French Cup final as Verratti nets rare goal

    PSG reach French Cup final as Verratti nets rare goal

    Marco Verratti scored a rare goal for Paris St-Germain (PSG) as they beat Nantes 3-0 at home to reach the French Cup final on Wednesday.

    The win meant they now have a fifth consecutive title in their sights.

    Midfielder Verratti, who also found the net for Italy last week, opened the scoring for the Cup holders in the first half with his first PSG goal of the season.

    Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty kick and Daniel Alves found the net with a delicate lob to wrap up victory in the closing stages.

    Mbappe was denied from the spot by Nantes goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu earlier in the match, before the visitors were reduced to 10 men.

    That was after Kalifa Coulibaly was sent off for a second yellow card in the 71st minute.

    PSG, who lost Marquinhos to a muscle injury, will face Stade Rennais, who beat Olympique Lyonnais 3-2 on Tuesday, in the April 27 showdown at the Stade de France.

    The Ligue 1 leaders have not conceded a single goal on their way to the final match.

    With Neymar watching from the stands, Verratti unleashed a low diagonal shot from outside the box on 29 minutes to put the home side ahead.

    It was his second goal in eight days after he scored in Italy’s 6-0 victory over Liechtenstein in a Euro 2020 qualifier last Tuesday.

    Mbappe beat Tatarusanu from the penalty kick spot after a Nicolas Pallois handball, but referee Francois Letexier had it retaken due to players encroaching into the box.

    Tatarusanu blocked the second attempt, but he was powerless with Mbappe’s penalty kick in the 83rd minute after Alves was brought down by Diego Carlos.

    Alves wrapped up an emphatic win when he lobbed Tatarusanu from the edge of the box two minutes into added time.

    The sides will meet again at the Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 in two weeks.

  • French Cup: Angel Di Maria hits hat-trick in PSG win

    French Cup: Angel Di Maria hits hat-trick in PSG win

    Angel Di Maria scored a hat-trick as holders Paris Saint-Germain defeated second-tier Sochaux 4-1 on Tuesday to reach the French Cup quarter-finals, while Marseille demolished Ligue 2 outfit Bourg-en-Bresse 9-0.

    Di Maria headed PSG, who were playing without the rested Neymar, ahead inside the first minute at the Stade Bonal in eastern France, but twice former winners Sochaux levelled through Florian Martin before the quarter hour.

    Edinson Cavani restored the lead for Unai Emery’s team on 27 minutes when he turned in a Layvin Kurzawa cross at the far post, and Thiago Silva then rattled the crossbar with a header from a corner.

    Di Maria added a third just prior to the hour with a composed finish after he was released in behind the home defence by a pass from Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.

    He completed his hat-trick just three minutes later by forcing home a rebound from close range after Sochaux goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi parried a fierce shot from Cavani.

    Dani Alves finished the game in goal for PSG after Kevin Trapp was sent off in the closing stages for a foul outside his area on Sochaux striker Thomas Robinet.