Two goals from Edinson Cavani was enough to knock holders Saint-Etienne out of the French Cup last night, as PSG prevailed 2-1 in extra-time in their Last 16 clash.
Cavani has been one of the signings of the summer, scoring 18 times in 23 games for PSG this season, gave the French champions the lead in the first half only for former PSG striker and Turkey international Mevlut Erding to level in the second period to force extra time.
However, Cavani grabbed the winner two minutes from the end of extra time when he knocked home Jeremy Menez’s low cross. It was revenge for PSG as they had been knocked out by Saint-Etienne on penalties in the competition last season.
PSG’s bitter historical rivals Marseille also progressed by the same scoreline against Toulouse when former Toulouse star Andre-Pierre Gignac grabbed Marseille’s winner from the penalty spot.
Earlier seven-time French champions Lyon reached the quarter-finals with a 3-2 win over fellow Ligue 1 side Reims. Lyon, who have won the League Cup just once in 2001, twice took a two goal lead only to see Reims come twice get back into the game.
Holding onto leads has been a problem for Lyon this season, they led Marseille 2-0 last Sunday before being held to a draw, and they had a nervy last five minutes when Floyd Ayite’s penalty with four minutes to go made the score 3-2. But this time Lyon managed to hold on for the win.
