Coupe de France: Marseille see off Rennes, Reims beat Le Mans

Roberto De Zerbi’s men got back to winning ways to progress to the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France thanks to two goals early in each half from Amine Gouiri and Mason Greenwood, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang killed off the tie in the last ten minutes. If the week had been marked by chaos and tension in the South of France, Les Olympiens would hold their nerve to progress in a cup competition that they are desperate to win.

The nerves would be put at ease early on, as Timothy Weah nicked the ball off former OM man Quentin Merlin who failed to clear his lines – before Amine Gouiri would finish into the back of the net to the roar of a tense Vélofrome (1′). High-intensity, slightly panicked, but effective; Marseille looked like a team on a mission in the opening periods.

Rennes were the victim of their own mistakes, but knew that they could grow into the game as the first period wore on. OM starved Les Rennais of possession, but De Lange would be on hand to save well from a couple half-chances, before Gouiri had a snapshot at goal after winning the ball once again in the Rouge et Noir box.

Les Olympiens pressed high onto Habib Beye’s side, much in the image of their first outing at Roahzon Park earlier in the season. But at times, De Zerbi’s men looked almost too keen. Ethan Nwaneri would certainly have been at risk of a red card if VAR had been functioning after a high-studded tackle, but he was instead shown a yellow for his troubles.

Rennes had their best chance of the game just before the break, as De Lange flapped at a cross from the left side but Moussa Al-Tamari headed straight at the Dutch keeper. At half-time, Roberto De Zerbi brought on Bilal Nadir for Ethan Nwaneri after his yellow card. Meanwhile for Rennes Habib Beye would bring on Breel Embolo, taking off Esteban Lepaul.

In a mirror image of the first half, OM would strike as quick as lightning. Quinten Timber won the ball in midfield and Rennes weren’t set – a simple ball through from Gouiri released Greenwood who finished one-on-one with Brice Samba (45′). From then it was a case of OM protecting their lead, rather than letting the opponent easily make a comeback late on. With that in mind, Roberto De Zerbi brought on Geoffrey Kondogbia.

Yet Marseille had passed up the opportunity to kill off the tie as Greenwood burst into the box and dribbled past two Rennes defenders before putting the ball on a plate for Gouiri. The Algerian inexplicably blasted his strike over the bar before being instantly substituted by De Zerbi to a fair few whistles from the home crowd.

If the nerves were starting to kick in again, another break from Mason Greenwood saw the Englishman put the ball on a plate for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to kill off the tie (82′). A sigh of relief, but Marseille fans wouldn’t be convinced until the final whistle was blown.

Reims join Marseille in quarter-finals

Stade de Reims booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France with a commanding 3–0 win over Le Mans FC at the Auguste-Delaune.

Reims were in control throughout and took a deserved lead just before half-time through Théo Léoni (38’), who fired a half-volley in off the underside of the bar. The midfielder doubled his tally in the second half (71’), calmly chipping the goalkeeper after a perfectly weighted outside-of-the-foot pass. The contest was put beyond doubt late on when Yassine Benhattab capped a swift counter-attack with a superb finish into the top corner (84’).

The victory ended Le Mans’ 20-match unbeaten run and made Reims the first Ligue 2 side to secure a place in the Coupe de France quarter-finals, underlining their authority in an all–second-tier tie.