PSG-Brest, the reunion. Ten days after having managed to stand up to the capital club in Ligue 1 after being led 2-0 (2-2), Stade Brestois presented itself again on the lawn of the Parc des Princes, but this time, in the part of the round of 16 of the Coupe de France. Just one week before his Champions League round of 16 first leg against Real Sociedad, Luis Enrique lined up a rather classic starting eleven, while Éric Roy rested a few executives. Gianluigi Donnarumma kept the cages, Achraf Hakimi made his comeback after the elimination of Morocco from CAN 2023, the trio Ruiz-Zaire-Emery-Vitinha animated the midfield and the offensive trident Dembélé-Mbappé-Barcola was renewed. The only surprise was the new tenure of Brazilian recruit Lucas Beraldo as left back. At a time when the red and blue team is being scrutinized from all sides before the return of the C1, the Parisians have not really had a reassuring first period.
From the outset, the red and blue defense was put in difficulty. Following a passing error from Hakimi, Beraldo was forced to work to counter Doumbia at the penalty spot (2nd). Two minutes later, the Brazilian did it again with a cross to Doumbia (4th). Brest rested its executives while PSG aligned its stars, but it was the Bretons who created the most dangerous situations. The Ty’Zefs could even have scored a double blow if Satriano’s long shot had not found the crossbar (29th) and if Donnarumma had not pulled out all the stops on a missile from Magnetti (30th). Jostled by the second Brest team, Paris disappointed. But to get out of trouble, Paris is lucky to be able to count on three offensive arrows.
Brassier tripped
On his left side, Bradley Barcola once again hit quite a bit and he could even have obtained a penalty (16th). For his part, Ousmane DembĂ©lĂ© had a few chances (21st, 32nd), but the former Blaugrana had the merit of being a decisive element who didn’t give up. It was he who went to press Locko which led to Kylian MbappĂ© opening the score (1-0, 34th). And it was also he who made a fatal acceleration on the left side before crossing for a well-placed Danilo at the near post (2-0, 37th). The Parisians were jubilant, but the scenario was cruel for an SB29 which paid dearly for its lack of effectiveness. Cornered during a good part of the first period, Paris knew how to place the uppercuts needed to knock out his opponent. The Rouge et Bleu could even have taken advantage of the blow received by the Brestois to worsen the score, but MbappĂ© was thwarted by the crossbar (44th) and Coudert (44th).
Like ten days ago in the championship, PSG led 2-0 at halftime. And once again, Luis Enrique’s men were unable to take definitive shelter. Paris could have killed the match with Danilo (52nd), DembĂ©lĂ© (53rd) and Vitinha (61st), but it was ultimately Steve MouniĂ© who revived his team with a header (2-1, 64th). A fair reward for the Bretons and the Beninese attacker whose header discouraged the Parisian defenders from fighting in the air. But while SB29 had given itself the means to believe in the feat, Lilian Brassier lost control. The Brest defender came close to receiving a red card after elbowing Danilo Pereira (60th). A few minutes later, another miracle. Already warned, Brassier managed to escape any sanction despite a tackle from behind on Kylian MbappĂ©. Not seen (there is no VAR in the Coupe de France, editor’s note), not caught. Not enough to calm him down since he managed to get himself expelled after a new attack on Bondynois (69th). In numerical superiority, PSG finally sealed the fate of the match thanks to a goal from Gonçalo Ramos at the very end of the match (3-1, 90th). Paris joins OL, Valenciennes, Nice, Strasbourg, Rennes and Le Puy in the quarter-finals.
