Paris Saint-Germain entered the quarter-finals of the French Cup on Wednesday, while giving them a psychological setback in their quest for the Lit 1 title as they beat top-of-the-table Lille 3–0. This was the correct response from PSG after their shock weekend home loss to Nante, who had stolen the watch at the houses of Angel Di Maria and Marquinhos during the match. “We have done a difficult job for the players and their families for the last few days,” PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “No one is ready for this type of situation. The players did a great job staying focused. Their mood was excellent. Angel and Marquinhos enjoyed playing.”
In both of the first meetings of the international break between the teams at the Parc des Princes, the difference was a series of mistakes by Lily at key moments.
“It’s always the same, it’s against Paris on the field of truth that it matters,” Lille midfielder Benjamin Andre said.
When Di Maria crossed a low into the near post after nine minutes, Lille keeper Tiago Giullo took a wild swing. Goalkeeper Mike Migan threw the deflected ball, only turning it towards his goal. Mauro Icardi needed to gather his intelligence before being rolled into an empty net.
Icardi was shut out for 36 minutes, replaced by Kian Maleppé, who started on the bench.
Four minutes later, MBP mended to the edge of Lily’s penalty area until Zeki Celik took the bait, held out one knee and brought the striker down.
Following Lille’s protest, Mbappe pushed the spot-kick to the roof of the net.
Lilly coach Christophe Galtier said, “Our first half-century was sneaky, we think we saw him playing a little bit, which made it clear that he felt that the first half of the referee was too bad.
“They have control, experience, they have the ability to put everyone to sleep, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone.”
Lily had a chance when she won her own penalty with 13 minutes to play, hitting the outstretched hand of Jeremy Pied’s cross to Byvin Levina Kurzawa.
Lil again weaved as did Keyser Navas to save Yusuf Yazaki’s tame sentence.
“Keeler is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, his stature is unbelievable,” Pochettino said.
Three minutes into the added time on the half-line, Xolo misjudged the PSG clearance. Mbappe raced away from the Lille defender and drilled Maignan past the third.
“We didn’t play a cup game,” Galtier said. “In the cup, at the end you either qualify or you are out. The score may look harsh, but we can’t compete with Paris if we only play one half.”
Promoted
PSG, the defending champion, Lily with three points in Ligue 1 and a comeback date is on the horizon. The pair met again at the Paras des Princes after an international break, with Leon clashing with Nimes after PSG finished third on Sunday.
“On April 3, it will be another competition, another competition,” Pochettino said. “We have Lyon on Sunday and in two weeks after that, we have to recharge our batteries after the first two months of insanity.”
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