He Lyon, Nice, Strasbourg, Valenciennes and Le Puy-en-Velaythe only surviving club from National 2 (fourth category), qualified this Wednesday for the quarterfinals of the French Cup after being eliminated Lille, Montpellier, Le Havre, Saint Priest and Laval, respectively.
The first to seal their classification on Wednesday was Lyon, who in their quest to win a title they have not won since the 2011/12 season achieved a hard-fought victory over Lille, one of the Ligue 1 teams that have options to play in the Champions League next season.
Lyon, in the league, are nothing to write home about. He is experiencing one of his most problematic courses, which involves a constant fight not to lose the category. Last weekend they gave themselves a break after beating Olympique Marseille 1-0 and although they are only three points above the Ligue 2 places, they took some oxygen before facing the Cup duel.
Lyon coach Pierre Sage rested some of his starters. Players like Clinton Mata, Lopes, Nuamah, Matic and Lacazette have been left out to give chance to others like Lucas Perri, Tolisso, Mangala, Cherki and Fofana. Among them all, Rayan Cherki monopolized most of the limelight among his peers.
In the end, they got the victory (2-1) and Cherki participated in both goals. First, on the stroke of half-time, he assisted Orban to open the scoring; and then, at the start of the second half, he himself managed to get the tie back on track which was complicated by Alexsandro with more than half an hour remaining after scoring the 2-1 score. However, Lyon have held firm and remain alive in a competition they have not won in over a decade.
Nice did not disappoint either, as they beat Montpellier in a resounding win: 1-4. The team led by Francesco Farioli solved the match thanks to its force in the first half. Goals from Ndayishimiye, Louchet and Cho did not give Montpellier any chance, which in the second half tried an impossible comeback without success and even, from the penalty area, received the fourth, the work of Claude -Maurice. Then, Sagnan saved the honor and Nice was in the quarterfinals.
The only two survivors of National 2 (fourth division), Le Puy-en-Velay and Saint Priest, suffered a different fate. The first, Laval was eliminated from Ligue 2: they won 2-1 with a double from Jules Meyer, who closed the match after converting the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 95th minute. And, the second, was planted against Valenciennes, also from Ligue 2, but lost 1-2 with Doucouré’s goal late in the match.
And Strasbourg also reached the quarterfinals after clearly defeating Le Havre (3-1). Bakwa, Emegha and Senaya scored for Patrick Vieira’s men, who kept alive hopes of a return to the final 24 years after the last time they played in the title decider. Then, in the 2000/2001 season, they won the French Cup after defeating Amiens.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
