Coupe de France – The eye of Denis Balbir: “Nice and Monaco, it hurts the Côte d’Azur”
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“The majority of Ligue 1 clubs are in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France and it is in the logic of things insofar as there were only two clashes between elite clubs. On Saturday, I watched OM’s match against Hyères (2-0 victory for the Olympians). Even if there were good streaks from the small Var club, talent made the difference, as was the case with Bamba Dieng’s goal where Mattéo Guendouzi put his foot on the ball. Despite all his good will and even at 11 against 10, Hyères could not do much.
“The logic was generally respected”
This weekend, even if it was sometimes laborious, PSG, OL, Rennes, Lille, Lens or even Nantes, defending champion, did the job. The logic was generally respected. Only two top clubs in French football are really missing: Monaco and Nice, respectively beaten by Rodez (2-2, 4-5 on tab) after leading 2-0 at home and at Le Puy (0-1). This hurts the Côte d’Azur. If we often salute (and rightly!) the magic of the Cup for the little ones, we must also look into the catastrophe of the big ones… This is the case for the Gym.
The situation is complicated for Lucien Favre, who is all the more weakened and who cannot find the solutions. This humiliation in the Cup makes the situation almost untenable. In this group from Nice, there is a real lack of goodwill, enthusiasm and involvement. Among the big guys, Nice is really the bad student this season.
“Hats off to Olympique Strasbourg Koenigshoffen”
To finish on this Coupe de France, it is appropriate to salute the feat of the weekend signed by Olympique Strasbourg Koenigshoffen, a Regional 1 club, which took out Clermont-Foot on penalties when there were six divisions of gap between the two teams. This is exceptional ! Even if we are driven by adrenaline, we must salute the composure of these amateurs in this penalty shootout against the current 9th in Ligue 1. Hats off to the Alsatians! Les Herbiers, Carquefou, Calais… It’s this kind of epic that brings back good memories and makes the Cup a special competition. »
The French Cup chronicle of Denis Balbir
Every week, Denis Balbir deciphers the news of Ligue 1. We dwell on the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France, fatal in Nice and Monaco in particular. Our consultant returns to the precarious situation of Lucien Favre.