Lyonnais and Parisiens are decidedly inseparable. The two teams, which have just met on February 9 in Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes (PSG victory, 4-2), will do it again. In Lyon this time. And in the semi-final of the Coupe de France. Before a final of the Coupe de la Ligue, the last of the name, scheduled for April 4 at the Stade de France.
Calendar provided
It is undoubtedly the poster of these semi-finals of the 103rd edition of the Coupe de France. "If we want to go to the end, we must, at one time or another, cross the Paris-SG, exclaimed Olivier Blanc, the representative of the Rhone club present this Thursday evening in the studios of France Televisions where the draw by Julien Benneteau, captain of the French Fed Cup team. It will be at home. It's already that ! On September 22, Thomas Tuchel's Paris had come to Groupama Stadium to beat OL in the Championship thanks to a goal by Neymar in the 87th minute. OL, who released OM in the previous round, and PSG, ruthless against Dijon in the quarterfinals, are the last two French representatives in the Champions League. And they remain committed - for a few more weeks - on all fronts. Their calendar promises to be particularly extensive.
Thus, the Paris SG goes to Dortmund next Tuesday and will receive the Germans on the return on March 11 while the Lyonnais will welcome the fearsome Juventus Turin on February 26 before a trip to the other side of the Alps on March 17. Paris and Lyon will have faced each other in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France.
A bit of a Champions League match
"Our calendar is indeed busy," notes Zoumana Camara, member of the Parisian technical staff. But this duel with Lyon looks a bit like a Champions League match. "
Stade Rennais, holding the trophy after beating the… Paris-SG in the final, is guaranteed to travel to these semi-finals. Victorious this Tuesday from Belfort fans (N2), 3-0, the Bretons could once again cross the road of a club in eastern France, in this case Epinal (N2), who plays his quarter-final tonight facing Saint-Etienne on the Nancy side. Otherwise, it is at Geoffroy-Guichard, in the Cauldron of the Greens, that the Rennais will defend their property. "We would have preferred to receive," breathes Sylvain Armand, Breton sports coordinator. But hey, we've already avoided PSG, it's a good thing ... And it's true that it would be fantastic to go to the Stade de France again! "
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