In a badly needed result for Unai Emery’s Paris Saint-Germain, the Parisians prevailed over Antoine Kombourare’s EA Guingamp 4-2 at Le Parc des Princes in the Coupe de France Round of 32. Adrien Rabiot (21′), Lucas Deaux on an own goal (25′), Javier Pastore (64′) and Marquinhos (89′) scored for Paris, while Marcus Thuram (33′) and Yeni Ngbakoto (75′) recorded successful penalties for the visitors in a wild goal festival in Paris.
Et voici tous les résultats du jour !
Dernier match des 16es de Finale demain à 21h00 (Strasbourg/Lille) #CDF pic.twitter.com/NU0EUEiuFA— Coupe de France (@coupedefrance) January 24, 2018
PSG’s 20th consecutive Coupe de France win came as Lassana Diarra was in attendance. Diarra was officially signed to the club on a short-team deal as a stopgap quick fix for Thiago Motta. Paris dominated possession (63 percent to 37 percent) and corners (11 to four), while Guingamp led the way in shots (14 to 10), shots on goal (11 to two), and saves (eight to three).
On the home front, Kylian Mbappe was not available for the contest due to seeing a neurologist this week. Emery also believed that Clement Turpin’s handling of Dani Alves’s dissent should have been handled differently.
“Kylian felt fine in the dressing room after the Lyon game,” said Emery on Tuesday. “He took a heavy blow. The doctor would rather analyse the problem with a neurologist and see if it is dangerous for Kylian to play. He wants to feature, though, he is fired up and feels fine.
PSG coach Unai Emery on Kylian Mbappe post-Guingamp: “After the Lyon loss, he immediately asked to play again. We must trust the doctor & be patient though. Maybe if it had been a season-defining match, we would have risked it. Not today, though.” #PSGEAG #CdF
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) January 24, 2018
“I want players who play with their hearts but also their heads. If you play without one or the other, then it is not good. Dani is an intelligent and experienced player and he plays with a lot of heart. However, he needed some balance in this situation.
“When you know the player, you know that they have this sort of character. Dani has been that way ever since his first few matches. A different referee might have only shown him a yellow card, though — I prefer it when referees can handle and keep control of difficult moments like that.”
Alves will be unavailable for selection when Paris Saint-Germain host Montpellier HSC on Jan. 27 but should factor in the mix when they travel to Roazhon Park in Rennes on Jan. 30 for the Coupe de La Ligue semifinal against Stade Rennais FC.
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