This Sunday evening, the Racing Club de Lens hosted Paris Saint-Germain for the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France. Hakimi opened the scoring in the 25th minute of play, catching a cross from Doué on the left with his right foot.
Almost immediately, the assistant referee raised his flag to signal an offside position. However, the Moroccan international was, it seems, not in an illegal position in view of the images. But, incredible as it may seem, video assistance refereeing (VAR) is not available at this stage of the competition.
Safonov stops two shots on goal from Lens!
In the second half, the Sang et Or pushed to open the scoring. Fulgini (54th) and Thomasson (56th) were not far from achieving it. It was finally Khusanov who shook Safonov’s net, with a nice half-volley from the left (1-0, 67th). The Rouge et Bleu reacted very quickly, thanks to Gonçalo Ramos. When he had just come on, the Portuguese center forward took advantage of an error from Danso to crucify Koffi in a pivotal position (1-1, 70th).
No more goals were going to be scored, so the two teams had to decide with a penalty shootout. Safonov would be the great architect of Parisian qualification for the next round. Indeed, the Russian goalkeeper stopped two Lensoise shots, those of Nzola and Diouf, while all the Parisians converted their attempt. In the round of 16, Luis Enrique’s men will face FC Espaly-Saint-Marcel (National 3).
