Russia (bbabo.net), - The French Cup continues to delight fans with sensations: after two teams from the fourth division (Versailles and Bergerac) reached the quarterfinals at once, they flew out of the tournament at the 1/8 finals " Paris Saint-Germain", who lost on penalties to Nice (0:0, 5:6).

Nice ended Paris Saint-Germain's seven-year streak, during which the Parisians certainly reached at least the Cup final and won the trophy six times. What is interesting: the capital club suffered the only failure in 2019, when it also lost on penalties to Rennes with the same score as Nice - 5:6.

“PSG” did not help even the return of Lionel Messi, who had not entered the field since December. By the way, the Argentine first entered the field as part of a new team under his favorite “top ten”. But this is a temporary promotion. There is a tradition in the French Cup - the starting line-up players are numbered from the first to the 11th, and the substitutes - from the 12th and above. Since Neymar is still injured, Messi decided to take the top ten.

It is safe to say that this season is the most unfortunate for Messi in terms of statistics. He has not scored for the club since December 7, when the Argentine scored a double in the Champions League match against the Belgian Club Brugge. Since then, Lionel has made seven appearances for PSG without scoring a single goal.

- Of course, I expected more from our attack. We have been trying to improve team interactions and achieve balance for a long time. It's not about the lines, it's about finding free space, moving the ball forward and finding better positions on the field. The opponent left us free zones, but we didn't use our chances. Can relegation from the Cup have consequences at the end of the season? I don't know, - said the head coach of the Parisian team Mauricio Pochettino.

For the first time since 2014, the Parisians will not play in the French Cup final

For Russian fans, the French Cup should be interesting because Monaco, for which Alexander Golovin plays, still continues to fight in it. The ex-midfielder of CSKA helped his club defeat Lance (4:2) in the 1/8 finals on the road, coming on as a substitute. This fight was the first for Golovin since December 19.

Thanks to the "blind" lot in the quarter-final stage, there are very original couples. For example, the aforementioned Versailles and Bergerac hit each other. This means that in the semi-finals, in any case, there will be a representative of the fourth division. Lucky with lots and "Monaco", which will meet at home with "Amiens", acting in the second league. The most advertised pair - "Marseille" - "Nice", plus "Nantes" will play with "Bastia" (second division). Matches will be held from 8 to 10 February.

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