Holders Paris Saint-Germain made sure of their place in the Coupe de France semis in emphatic fashion on Wednesday night, sweeping Angers aside with a five-goal blitz despite the fact that top scorer Kylian Mbappé was handed a well-deserved rest.

With a fit-again Neymar starting as captain in the play-makers role in a 4-2-3-1, it was fellow fit-again forward Mauro Icardi who starred for the capital club. After missing much of the season through injury, the Argentine showed that he has lost none of his sharpness as he bagged the opener early before capping the goal-fest with his third - the pick of the bunch - on 90 minutes.

Pochettino: 'Very professional'

"I am happy for Mauro Icardi's three goals. I haven't decided if he will be starting matches any time soon, I haven't thought it through yet. It's not always easy when a player has injuries, one problem after another, and has a difficult season," said cautious yet also obviously well pleased PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino. "We are very happy with the performance of the team, they were very professional. Sometimes some decisions can be questioned but it's very important to manage the game time because the whole squad is important."

The dominant display was just what the doctor ordered for a PSG side who are locked in a neck-and-neck title race in Ligue 1 Uber Eats and who have a crunch UEFA Champions League semi-final against Manchester City looming in a week's time.

Monaco edge OL

The Parisians now go into the semis draw along with Montpellier, minnows Rumilly-Vallières and AS Monaco, who disposed of OL 2-0 in a thriller at the Groupama Stadium. The hosts hit the woodwork no fewer than three times in quick succession in the first half - and had a Maxwel Cornet goal ruled out for a split-hair off-side decision - but were made to pay early in the second.

Young defender Sinaly Diomandé saw red - and conceded a penalty - for a dangerously tackle in the area on a goal-bound Fodé Ballo-Touré. Monaco captain Wissam Ben Yedder duly converted from the spot and when Kevin Volland smashed home at the near post nine minutes later, it was all she wrote and Monaco held out for a well deserved win.

Kovac: 'A tough battle'

"Of course it was difficult but you can't come to Lyon and think you'll win easily. Lyon are a good team in Ligue 1 Uber Eats but also in Europe. We expected a tough battle and we were aware of the difficulties that awaited us," said Monaco boss Niko Kovac, whose side are the form team in France in 2021 and many pundits' dark horse in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats title race.

"We also had a lot of chances in the second half and we are very happy to be in the semi-finals. Our goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki was fantastic. He turned in a great performance, he was safe, calm, brought serenity and made the right saves at the right time."

The semis draw will be held at 20:05 on Sunday, 25 April.

(Photos: FFF.fr)

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