What would the Coupe de France be without its traditional surprises to brighten up Sunday afternoons? Two elite clubs, in any case, did not digest the winter break and will not see the round of 16 of the event on January 29 and 30, 2022.
Fourth in Ligue 1, Rennes got bogged down in Nancy, yet last in Ligue 2. Carried by a decisive Valette during the penalty shoot-out (three saves), the Lorrainers managed to qualify while the two teams had tied in regulation time (1-1). The Bretons, however, thought they had done the hard part by opening the scoring shortly before the hour mark thanks to Doku. A nice movement in the area of the Belgian striker, concluded with a curled shot from the left into the small net.
Faced with the timid and clumsy assaults of Nancy, Bruno Genesio’s men thought they were quietly managing their meager advance. Missed. After a good handover from Bondo at the far post, Biron equalized by beating Alemdar with a head at close range (78 ‘). And after coming back against the course of play, the players of Benoît Pedretti were able to take advantage of the lottery session.
“In the Cup, when a small one faces a big one, you need a good goalkeeper, success, a little opposing clumsiness and when you have an opportunity, put it to the bottom, summarizes the coach. This is what we got! It doesn’t make sense given the content of the match, but we take it. We knew how to show solidarity, Baptiste (Editor’s note: Valletta) made the stops and we believed in until the end. There is a huge difference between the two teams, if it ends at 3-0 there is nothing to say! “
SC Bastia did not have to go so far to send Clermont back to the continent with a (de) prime elimination. The Corsicans, 18th in L2, largely dominated the Auvergnats to afford their first 8th since 2018. From the 25th, the ubiquitous Benjamin Santelli gave the advantage to the islanders with a sequence of chest control and left strike. In the 70th, at the height of Bastia domination, Robic took advantage of a good return from Santelli’s header to make the break at close range.