Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) qualified for the semi-finals of the Coupe de France by beating Nice (3-1), Wednesday March 13 evening, in the quarter-finals, at the Parc des Princes. He thus joins Rennes, his next opponent in the next round.
PSG, which holds the record for trophies in this competition (fourteen), has not won the Coupe de France since 2021. Winning it again is one of the objectives clearly stated this season by the club.
Paris remains in the race to win all competitions: leader of Ligue 1, the club is also qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
On Wednesday, Luis Enrique’s men took double revenge on the Niçois: the Aiglons won at the Parc des Princes (3-2), PSG’s last defeat in Ligue 1; and in 2022, they eliminated PSG on penalties in the round of 16 of the competition. This time, the Aiglons did not resist. They thus go on to their sixth match without a victory, the last dating back to the round of 16 won against Montpellier at the beginning of February (4-1).
At the start of the match, the Parisians left nothing to the Niçois, completely passive, during the first thirty minutes. They took possession of the ball, and when the Aiglons managed to recover it, the PSG players put on the necessary pressure. It was also thanks to a recovery from Warren Zaire-Emery that Kylian Mbappé, holder on the left side and captain, opened the scoring (1-0, 14e) after a superb one-two with Fabian Ruiz.
Mbappé scores his 7e goal in the Coupe de France
Well in his legs after being left on the bench on Sunday against Reims in Ligue 1, Mbappé, who scored his 7e goal in the Coupe de France this season in four matches, came close to a double, hitting the post in the 25the minute. The Portuguese Gonçalo Ramos missed several times in front of goal (5e24e58e). Unlike Fabian Ruiz (2-0, 33e), who took full advantage of a big mistake from Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bulka.
But Nice ended up waking up while Paris showed signs of fatigue. “I think this was the best thirty-five minutes I’ve seen”said Luis Enrique after the match, because “we created a lot of chances and dominated the match perfectly during this period”. “Then, we conceded the goal in a strange way just after, we entered a period of doubt and the opponent regained confidence”he added.
Three minutes after the 2-0, Francesco Farioli’s players, although beaten in all areas of the game, returned to the score, after a breakthrough from Jérémie Boga, which Warren Zaire-Emery, right side on Wednesday, did not know stop. In the area, Gaëtan Laborde recovered a returned ball and adjusted Donnarumma (2-1, 37e). The Niçois, transformed by the goal, were then very close to equalizing (45 +1, 55e).
The feverish Parisian defense
Like the draw on Sunday against Reims (2-2), the Parisian defense was still too feverish and too easily taken, due in particular to the hybrid placement of Warren Zaire-Emery, which did not seem completely still master.
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On the other side, in the left lane, on the other hand, Nuno Mendes, who is returning from a long injury, showed all his offensive qualities and his speed.
Restrained by Luis Enrique, the Parisians resumed play after half-time. It was from a corner that they gave themselves some breathing space, thanks to Lucas Beraldo, alone at the far post and who scored his first goal with PSG (3-1, 60e).
Paris will host Rennes in the semi-final on Wednesday April 3, the day after the other semi-final between Lyon and Ligue 2 club Valenciennes.