Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s hotly contested second-half goal gave holders Paris Saint-Germain a place in the Coupe de la Ligue final four on Tuesday, dealing AS Saint-Etienne a tournament-ending 1-0 defeat.
Ibrahimovic’s 72nd-minute goal, which he chested over the line despite goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier’s efforts to claw the ball away, was disputed both by the home players and the spectators.
Angry fans hurled projectiles on to the pitch of Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, including a plastic water bottle thrown at a linesman, and les Verts coach Christophe Galtier had to urge the crowd to calm down. The match was held up for about 10 minutes while order was restored.
Photo: AFP
The victory is welcome for PSG and especially for coach Laurent Blanc, who has come under pressure in the past four weeks after a series of disappointing results and player trouble.
PSG came into the game on the back of a 4-2 league defeat by modest SC Bastia on Saturday, with Blanc having disciplined big-name players Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi for returning late from holiday.
The French coach, who has guided PSG into the UEFA Champions League last 16, where they will play Chelsea, said that he had not been very confident before the match after what he had seen against Bastia.
“After the Bastia match I had the impression that we no longer knew how to play and there was a bad atmosphere within the squad,” Blanc said. “Tonight, though, I saw positive things and we have won at a place where it is difficult to do so. However, I am neither more reassured than I was before the match, but on the other hand neither am I very worried.”
Earlier, Bastia continued their good run of form, recovering from going a goal behind early on to storm into their first Coupe de la Ligue semi-final since 2000 with a 3-1 victory over Stade Rennais.
Unusually for a top-tier side in Europe these days, the Corsican club fielded six homegrown players in their starting lineup and another five on the bench.
Their resounding win was helped considerably by Rennes having two men sent off and former France international Djibril Cisse rounded off a joyous night for Bastia as the 33-year-old fired home a powerful shot 1 minute from time.
“I am happy for the players for all the work they have put in recent weeks,” said Bastia coach Ghislain Printant, who is bidding to become only the second boss in the club’s history to land a trophy, with their sole piece of silverware coming in the 1981 Coupe de France. “This semi-final is a deserved reward for them.”
The semi-final lineup was to be finalized yesterday when AS Monaco were due to host En Avant de Guingamp and LOSC Lille Metropole were at home to Nantes.
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