By Daily sports on March 18, 2021

Paris Saint-Germain cruised into the quarter-finals of the French Cup on Wednesday while striking a psychological blow in their pursuit of the Ligue 1 title, as they beat top-of-the-table Lille 3-0.

It was the perfect response from PSG after their shock weekend home loss to struggling Nantes, which was overshadowed by thefts at the homes of Angel Di Maria and Marquinhos during the match.

“We have had a difficult last few days, the players and their families,” said PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino.

“Nobody is prepared for this kind of situation. The players did a great job to stay focused, their state of mind was extraordinary. Angel and Marquinhos felt good to play.”

In the first of two meetings between the teams at the Parc des Princes either side of the international break, the difference was a series of mistakes by Lille at key moments.

“It’s always the same, against Paris it’s in the zones of truth that it counts,” said Lille midfielder Benjamin Andre.

When Di Maria swung a low cross into the near post after nine minutes, Lille defender Tiago Djalo took a wild swing. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan lunged at the deflected ball, only pawing it towards his own goal. Mauro Icardi just needed to gather his wits before rolling into the empty net.

Icardi limped off on 36 minutes to be replaced by Kylian Mbappe, who had started on the bench.

Four minutes later, Mbappe meandered along the edge of the Lille penalty area until Zeki Celik took the bait, stuck out a knee and brought the striker down.

After outraged Lille protests, Mbappe smacked the spot-kick into the roof of the net.

•PHOTO: PSG players

Source Daily sports

Posted March 18, 2021

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