Dominated by OM at the Vélodrome on Wednesday evening, Paris took the door to the Coupe de France in the round of 16.
Igor Tudor’s men have removed a major thorn in the side of the first qualifiers for the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France. By suffocating in the large widths of the Parisians, dominated in the first half before becoming completely helpless in the second act (two small shots in the last 45 minutes), OM overturned the table by pushing the leader of Ligue 1 out of competition, Wednesday 8 February.
But it’s not just for Marseille that the lights are turning green. With them, the Olympians see the other contenders still in the running rubbing their hands after the elimination of the players of Christophe Galtier, accustomed to lifting the trophy in recent seasons. Although there are exceptions. Gone is the Parisian ogre who engulfed the titles from 2015 to 2018, then from 2020 to 2021. The champions of France are no longer masters of “their” cup.
This new disappointment at the Vélodrome stadium also illustrates this opening of the spectrum for all the remaining teams. Because yes, even for the three Ligue 2 clubs still in the running (Grenoble, Rodez, Annecy), the possibility of going all the way is no longer so illusory. All the more so if the draw, which will take place this Thursday from 8:45 p.m. in “Tout le Sport” (France 3), places two second division teams face to face.
Marseille as a favourite, Lyon and Lens on the lookout?
In an incandescent Vélodrome on Wednesday evening, OM were keen to lift an 11-year-old curse against the capital’s rival, whom they had not beaten on their lawn since November 2011. Worse: never in the he history of the Coupe de France Marseille had failed to defeat PSG at home.
The statistics definitively buried, does the Marseille club therefore become the favorite of this 2022-2023 edition? The show of force of Alexis Sanchez and his partners against Paris, especially in the first half, place them at least as a (very) credible outsider. Captain Valentin Rongier wanted to be more down to earth after the meeting: “We are delighted to be able to move on to the next round. As we said at the start of the season, the Cup is a goal.” After having the scalp of Rennes (1-0) in 16th, the men of Tudor seem to fear no one.
The fact remains that others want to invite themselves to the pretenders’ ball, such as Lens, tied on points with OM in Ligue 1 and who will compete for their place in the quarterfinals against Lorient this Thursday (9 p.m. ), or Lyon, who beat Lille on penalties (2-2, 4 penalties to 2). An argument all the more true that for the Gones, stuck in 9th place, a success in the Cup may be their only chance to find the European Cup.
Finally, if they were very scared against Angers (1-1, 4 shots on goal to 2), the defending champions of Nantes are still standing and do not intend to let go of their crown so easily. Enough to guarantee posters that are still thrilling between now and the grand final at the Stade de France, on April 29.