Coupe de France, Quarter-finals
Lyon 2-1 Grenoble foot
Goals from Bradley Barcola and new signing Jeffinho were enough to seal a victory for Les Gones, who were given a scare in the second half following a goal from Amine Sbaï. However, after halving the deficit, they couldn’t draw level, meaning that Laurent Blanc’s side progressed to the semi-finals. Winning the Coupe de France is perhaps Lyon’s best chance of securing European qualification for next season.
Nantes 2-1 Lens
The holders are through and ended a three-game losing streak in all competitions. Andy Delort, who joined Les Canaris from Nice in January got both goals, with both coming from the spot after Seko Fofana had opened the scoring. The wheels are coming off Lens’ season, but after their Europa League exit, Antoine Kombouaré can still dream of winning silverware again this season.
Toulouse 6-1 Rodez
It was an offensive festival at the Stadium Municipal. Five of Toulouse’s goals came inside the first 38 minutes, quickly putting the game out of reach of their Ligue 2 opponents. Thijs Dallinga (2), Branco van den Boomen, Zakaria Aboukhal, Farès Chaïbi and Gabriel Suazo all got on the scoreline as Toulouse progressed with ease.
Marseille 2-2 Annecy (Annecy advance 6-7 on penalties)
Having beaten PSG and Rennes, a victory against Ligue 2 Annecy seemed a foregone conclusion. Les Phocéens would likely have been confident of a comfortable progression to the semi-finals after Jordan Veretout’s first-half strike, but second-half goals from Moïse Sahi and Kévin Mouanga, which came in the space of just six minutes shocked the home crowd. François-Régis Mughe looked to have spared Marseille’s blushes with a 96th-minute equaliser, but Leonardo Balerdi missed the decisive penalty in the shootout as Annecy progress. The mid-table Ligue 2 side will be the only non-Ligue 1 representative in the semi-finals.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
