Tenth-placed Ligue 2 side Annecy have produced one of the all-time great Coupe de France upsets after beating Marseille at the Vélodrome at the quarter-final stage. Despite being a goal down, Annecy turned the tie on its head with two quick-fire goals near the hour mark. 18-year-old François Régis Mughe equalised at the 96th minute for his first ever game with Marseille and the tie went to penalties. Annecy prevailed after goalkeeper Thomas Callens thwarted Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares and Leonardo Balerdi missed the target at the very last attempt.
Annecy head coach Laurent Guyot has lauded his players’ ability to seize the moment and their chances to book their place in the Coupe de France semi-finals. “I am so happy for my players. Their mindset have been rewarded. This is crazy, what a blast! This is why we do this job.” In the semis, which will be held at the start of April, Annecy will either face new cup favourites Lyon, current holders Nantes or free-scoring Toulouse, who made light work of Ligue 2 side Rodez in a 6-1 humbling. Guyot did not say which team he would like to face but stated he would like Annecy’s historic semi-final to be played at home. “We’ll relish in our bus while we get home, but we host Metz on Saturday and we still have to keep the club in Ligue 2.”
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
