Tom Thumb Vierzon was eliminated by Grenoble on Wednesday, while defending champion Nantes qualified on penalties in Angers.
The Lyonnais provided the show and the cold, Wednesday, February 8, in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France against Lille, but the men of Laurent Blanc came to the end of the Dogues. For his part, defending champion Nantes did not go far from the exit. The Canaries eliminated Angers (1-1) after penalties. Vierzon, little thumb who evolves in National 2, sees his journey come to an end, just like Reims who is no longer undefeated under the orders of Will Still. Annecy and Rodez are also qualified.
The spectacular scenario: Lyon is doing well
Olympique Lyonnais retains hope of ending the season on a positive note by eliminating Lille on penalties (2-2, 4-2 on pens). All the same, it didn’t take long for Lyon’s mistakes to once again spoil the party. Lyon had started their evening perfectly by leading 2-0 after only twenty-one minutes of play thanks to goals from Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette, who was playing his 300th match in the Lyon jersey. But Lille came up behind with Jonathan David and Edon Zhegrova to make the Rhodanians tremble. The latter relied, during the penalty shootout, on their savior and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.
The end of the course: Tom Thumb Vierzon fell
The Brouhot stadium believed until the end in a new feat. Last amateur level team still in the running, Vierzon kept the flame alive, respecting the words of his coach, Davy Mérabty, before the meeting: “VSAgainst a Ligue 2, we have a way out, we will sell our skin dearly“. But the N2 team ended up losing by the smallest of margins (0-1) against Grenoble, after a goal at the start of the second period from Isère captain Loïc Nestor. The end of a great adventure for the second club from the Cher department to reach the round of 16 in the history of the Coupe de France.
The fright: defending champion, Nantes overthrows Angers
The winner of the 2022 edition is still in the running to defend his crown despite some cold sweats. Antoine Kombouaré’s men won after penalties against Angers (1-1, 4-2 pens), at the Raymond-Kopa stadium, after a match that will taste of frustration for the SCO. Quickly led to the score after a lucky goal from Abdallah Sima in the 6th minute, Nantes did not show much offensively in the first period.
More dangerous on the return from the locker room, the Yellow and Green exposed themselves to the Angevin counterattacks, bending without breaking. Until a late equalizer signed Florent Mollet (1-1, 87th), with a beautiful half-volley on a situation poorly controlled by Nabil Bentaleb, the Angevin captain. First to start during the penalty shootout, Amine Salama failed during his attempt, before his teammate Faouzi Ghoulam found the post.
The end of the series: Will Still is no longer undefeated
The beautiful series of Will Still has come to an end, in pain. Undefeated since his induction as Stade de Reims coach in place of Oscar Garcia in October, the Belgian suffered defeat for the first time, in Toulouse (3-1). The Rémois, not helped by their goalkeeper, failed to extend their series of fourteen consecutive games without defeat in all competitions.
Yehvann Diouf was unfortunate on Toulouse’s first goal by scoring against his side following a strike on the bar from Stijn Spierings (23rd). On the second achievement, the Reims goalkeeper completely missed his exit at the feet of Zakaria Aboukhlal (35th).