The Rouge et Bleu edged out by Paris FC
Men's football•
At the end of a hard-fought match, Paris Saint-Germain were beaten 1–0 by Paris FC on Monday 12 January at the Parc des Princes in the Round of 32 of the Coupe de France.
Just a few days after lifting their first trophy of the year in the Trophée des Champions against Olympique de Marseille (2–2, 4–1 on penalties), Paris Saint-Germain returned to the Parc des Princes on Monday hoping to continue their Coupe de France campaign. A familiar opponent was at the other end of the pitch, as Paris FC took on Luis Enrique’s men just one week after their first meeting in 48 years, during Matchday 17 of Ligue 1. The objective was clear for the Rouge et Bleu: to approach this match with the same focus and fighting spirit as in recent outings in order to secure a place in the Round of 16.
Eight days after their first visit to the Parc des Princes, the visitors approached the encounter with the same determination to bring the games to our Parisians and and cause an upset in a competition whose charm lies in the many surprises it produces each season. It was therefore up to our Rouge et Bleu to avoid the trap set by the neighbours from down the road. The match got underway at a one-way pace in favour of the title holders, who lacked cutting edge against a particularly compact defence.
Sharp on the counter-attack, Stéphane Gilli’s men send the first shivers through the stands of the Parc des Princes around the quarter-hour mark. It would take more, however, to beat a Lucas Chevalier who is once again imperious on his line, getting down perfectly to deny Alimani Gory’s effort (13'). The response from our Rouge et Bleu was swift. In quick succession, Obed Nkambadio came to his team’s rescue by tipping away a deceptive cross-shot from Bradley Barcola (23') and an audacious strike from Gonçalo Ramos (24'). Despite clear dominance and two further efforts from Senny Mayulu (36') and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (45+1'), the hosts were unable to make the breakthrough before the break.
After the break, Luis Enrique's side picked up the pace and tried to break down the Paris FC rearguard, who relied on Obed Nkambadio to keep the scores level. Outstanding up to that point, the Paris FC goalkeeper won his one-on-one battle with Kvaratskhelia (51'), Ramos (56') and Warren Zaïre-Emery (60'). Seeing his side struggle in attack, Luis Enrique injected fresh legs on the hour mark, bringing on Désiré Doué, Nuno Mendes and Ousmane Dembélé. The latter quickly caused problems for the PFC defence, but he too was denied by an ever-unbeatable Nkambadio (72'). Moments later, the visitors took full advantage of a lightning counter-attack to cut through the Rouge et Bleu defence and open the scoring through Jonathan Ikoné (0–1, 74').
Urged on by their supporters, the hosts raised the intensity in a bid to claw their way back into the game. Warren Zaïre-Emery came agonisingly close to sending the stadium into raptures, but his effort crashed against the crossbar (87'). In the dying seconds, it was Désiré Doué’s turn to see his attempt die at the foot of the post (90+6'). And so, in a cruel twist of fate, the club from the capital were beaten by the narrowest of margins and are knocked out of this year's Coupe de France.