OGC Nice had an appointment this Monday at the Parc des Princes to face Paris Saint-Germain. Thanks to a great collective performance and a decisive Marcin Bulka (on loan from Paris), the Aiglons continue their Coupe de France dream.
The first action of this match comes in the seventh minute, on the left side with Justin Kluivert, who is in great form at the moment, trying to find Dolberg with a tense cross. But the Dane is too short.
10 minutes later, the first shot of the match occurs. It is Nice who are the authors, Boudaoui makes the difference on his right side and finds Gouiri in the center outside the box. The former Lyon player gets a shot away, but it’s off target.
Paris-Saint-Germain responds four minutes later, Messi dribbles past Schneiderlin to serve Draxler who passes to Verratti, the latter takes a shot but it goes wide.
In the 25th minute, we witness the first shot on target from Nice. It comes from a free kick by Amine Gouiri, the international takes a powerful shot but the Italian goalkeeper of Paris Saint-Germain is well placed to stop the ball.
The first real opportunity for PSG in this match, at the half-hour mark, is Draxler who opens his foot but it’s blocked… Luckily as it seemed to be on target and Bulka hadn’t moved.
While Nice had created the best chances and showed more gameplay than PSG, the Parisians wake up in the final moments of the first half with Messi’s first shot followed by a cross-shot from Mendes a few moments later.
At the start of the second half, OGC Nice creates a huge chance, the best since the start of this match. After a great recovery by Schneiderlin from Marco Verratti’s feet, it is Gouiri who launches Kluivert in depth. The former Ajax player runs almost 70 m to attempt a shot at the end of his run to fool Donnarumma. The best goalkeeper of 2021 intervenes, the Azuréens could have taken the lead with that attempt.
Time passes and we have to wait until the 68th minute to see a new chance. After a performance, Marco Verratti enters the Azuréens’ box and opens his foot but it’s far off target.
A few minutes later, Delort tries to wake up the match with a powerful long shot, but it doesn’t trouble PSG.
The match starts to heat up with attempts by Kimpembe and Mbappé (70th minute).
The Parisians now control the ball and circulate it within Nice’s half. However, no concrete chances are created.
A big chance for the Gym five minutes from the end, once again Justin Kluivert is involved. Atal recovers a ball and manages to advance up the field, eliminating his direct opponents, he passes to newcomer Brahimi who continues his run to cross to the far post for Kluivert. The Dutchman sees his shot blocked by Danilo!
With this 0-0 at the end of regular time, the two teams will decide the outcome via penalty kicks without going through extra time.
It’s Schneiderlin who opens the penalty shootout, the former United player scores, Messi is the first Parisian kicker too. Todibo and Mbappe also manage to put the ball in the back of the net. Atal fools Donnarumma but Paredes sees his shot stopped by Bulka. The Gym takes the advantage but Delort sees his penalty saved by the giant Italian.
Draxler, Gouiri, Verratti, Guessand, Bernat, and Dante win their duels and it’s the young Xavi Simons who steps up next. With a soft shot to the right of the goal, the young Dutchman misses and Marcin Bulka can save giving the victory to OGC Nice!
OGC Nice qualifies for the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France by eliminating Paris Saint-Germain in a penalty shootout!
The Nice team played a beautiful match, creating the best chances and showing an impervious defense thanks to a well compact and organized block. Bulka made two decisive saves against his parent club, thus securing a penalty shootout qualification. It is a deserved victory for the Aiglons who will face Olympique de Marseille at the Allianz Riviera around February 9.
