Wins for Lyon, Lille and Nice
26/10/2011
Lyon continued their remarkable record away against Saint-Etienne and cruised to a 2-0 win while Joe Cole was amongst the scorers as Lille beat Sedan, to also reach the quarterfinals of the Coupe de la Ligue.
Wednesday 26 October, 2011
Coupe de la Ligue, last 16
Saint Etienne 1-2 Lyon 
Saint-Etienne had never previously beaten Lyon in a cup competition and their chances of reversing that trend were dealt a hammer blow when striker Jimmy Briand put OL one up five minutes before half time (40').
There was a slice of fortune about the goal but Briand was the fastest to react after Kim Källstrom's 25 metre free kick cannoned off the wall. The former Rennes forward then kept his cool to stroke the ball beyond a despairing Stéphane Ruffier in the home goal.
Match disruption
Lyon pushed forward in the second half in search of the goal that would bury the tie. 20-year-old striker Alexandre Lacazette, who was lively throughout, won a penalty after a challenge from the Brazilian defender, Paulao. The decision enraged the home support, a section of which then started to throw projectiles onto the pitch. That prompted the no-nonsense referee M. Turpin to stop the game. Thankfully, the delay was short-lived and play resumed with Michel Bastos putting Lyon 2-0 up from the penalty spot (68').
Saint-Etienne's Pierre Emerick Aubameyang gave the home fans some hope when he pulled one back with eight minutes left (82'). Lyon then showed their experience and closed out the match by defending sensibly while refusing to take any unnecessary risks. ASSE will get another go at their rivals on Saturday, when the two sides meet in the League at the Stade Gerland.
Lille 3-1 Sedan 
Along with France's other representatives in Europe, Lille made their bow in the competition on Wednesday night. After a few tough matches on the continental stage, the northerners couldn't have wished for a gentler work out than that provided by second division Sedan.
Benoit Pedretti put Les Dogues 1-0 up (34') before loan signing Joe Cole underlined his hunger for goals by scoring Lille's second just five minutes later (39'). It was the Englishman's third goal for the Ligue 1 champions and his second in four days, after he also scored at the weekend against Lyon.
Polish striker Ireneusz Jelen then made the game safe with twenty minutes to go (70'). Sedan got themselves on the score sheet through a Abdoulay Diaby penalty (80') but there was to be no comeback as Lille marched into the last eight.
Nice 2-1 Sochaux 
Striker Xavier Pentecotte scored once on either side of half time (38', 56') to usher Nice to a 2-1 win over Sochaux. They were the 25-year-old's first goals for the South coast club. Abdoul Razzagai Camara was on target for Sochaux (80') but it proved to be nothing more than a consolation. The two sides meet again at the Stade du Ray this weekend on league duty.
Auxerre 1-2 Caen 
Livio Nabab was the hero for Caen as his two goals steered the Normandy outfit into the last eight. The Guadeloupe-born striker netted his first ever goal against top-flight opposition (24') to give Caen the lead. That advantage was soon cancelled out by a goal from former Espanyol forward Ben Sahar (29'). The two sides then played each other to a stalemate, forcing the game into extra time. With the clock running down, Nabab provided the inspiration to score (117') and secure the win.
Le Mans 0-0 Rennes 
Le Mans win 4-1 after penalties
Rennes froze during the penalty shoot-out while Le Mans were perfect from the spot to book their passage into the quarterfinals. There may be a division between the two sides but nothing could separate them after 120 minutes of action at the MMArena. Youssouf Hadji started the rot when he missed the first of Rennes' penalties, Julien Féret scored but with Le Mans knocking them in for fun the pressure was on Jonathan Pitroipa. A miss from him would see Rennes eliminated. Unfortunately, for the travelling support, the Burkina Faso striker was off target and Rennes were out. Le Mans are now the only side outside of Ligue 1 in the last eight.