Winner of OGC Nice with a score of 3-1, this Wednesday evening at the Parc des Princes, PSG validated its ticket for the semi-finals of the Coupe de France.
For this knockout match, Luis Enrique chose to start Kylian Mbappé on the left side of his offensive trident. Just before the end of the quarter of an hour of play, the Ile-de-France number 7 opened the scoring. On the left side, Zaire-Emery recovered the ball lost by Thuram, before serving Lee. The South Korean winger was going to cross for Mbappé. The captain of the Blues, following a one-two with Ruiz, concluded between the legs of Bulka (1-0, 14th). It was the seventh goal in four Coupe de France matches this season for the native of Bondy.
Shortly after the half-hour mark, PSG took the break. The Aiglons’ Polish goalkeeper missed his clearance. Dembélé took the opportunity to serve Fabian Ruiz behind, who only had to push the ball into the empty net to score his first goal of the season (2-0, 33rd). However, Francesco Farioli’s men did not let themselves be defeated. Laborde quickly reduced the score with a nice left-foot volley (2-1.37). This goal transformed the Niçois, who finished the first period playing much higher up the pitch.
Beraldo, big first!
Both teams returned for the second half, made up of the same 22 players as at kickoff. Lotomba was very close to equalizing. Alone against Donnarumma, the right-back saw his shot pushed back by the Italian goalkeeper, before missing the target on his second attempt (55th). The Rouge et Bleu regained a two-goal lead on the hour mark, thanks to Beraldo. Following a cross from Vitinha, extended by Dante’s head, the Brazilian defender beat Bulka at point blank range (3-1, 60th).
The former São Paulo FC player scored his very first goal since his arrival in Paris at the start of the winter transfer window. After taking Rosario’s knee in the chest, Bulka was bleeding profusely from his nose. Valiant, the goalkeeper decided to stay on the pitch but had to change his blood-stained jersey. The match gradually decreased in intensity. In ten minutes of stoppage time, Zaire-Emery could have increased the score but his left shot was pushed away for a corner by Bulka.
Thanks to this victory, PSG are the last qualified for the semi-finals of the Coupe de France. Luis Enrique’s men will host Stade Rennais on April 3 at the Parc des Princes. The day before, Olympique Lyonnais will have faced Valenciennes (Ligue 2) in the first match of the last four.
