The final match of the Coupe de France's round of 16 finished in penalties. The Parisians, the defending champions and 14-time cup winners, were held in check for 90 minutes on Monday, January 31 in-home Parc des Princes. A goalless draw concluded an hour and a half of monotony. As a result, the penalty kick had to determine between Christophe Galtier's Niçois and Mauricio Pochettino's men.
The first half passed very quietly, without serious chances or attempts, as goalkeepers Donnarumma and Marcin Bulka were not subjected to impressive tests.
Set pieces that the evening hosts were never able to take advantage of. It must be said that by sometimes sacrificing offensive will, the Niçois were very present in their part of the field with two lines of four well in place in the defensive phase. This is also reminiscent of the first leg, on December 1, which also ended in a 0-0. And as at the time, it was above all the central defender Jean-Clair Todibo who was a rock for his people and disgust for the others.
Pochettino had put Mbappé on the bench to protect him after losing Neymar, Sergio Ramos, and Georginio Wijnaldum to injury, as well as Marquinhos and Gana Gueye, who had been retained in the squad. Only Lionel Messi's presence, with the number 10 on his back, could give us hope for a good display. Nay. The absence of Kylian Mbappé from the starting lineup was felt, particularly in terms of his accelerations, combinations with Messi, and craziness. Park was also jolted awake by his warm-up exit at the opening of the second period. On the hour mark, he came on to replace a stumbling Icardi, and although having excellent balls, he also rubbed shoulders with a Todibo.
The match ended in a draw, only to resort to penalties, where Paredes and Xavi Simmons missed, while Nice only missed one kick, which was kicked by Delors.
We're familiar with the rest. While PSG has one eye, if not both, on their match against Real on February 15, Nice will be able to enjoy their quarterfinal berth — against Olympique de Marseille.
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