Marseille dumped out of French Cup

French Ligue 1 club suffer 7-6 quarter-final defeat on penalties to second-division Annecy

PARIS:

Marseille were dumped out of the French Cup in the quarter-finals in sensational fashion on Wednesday as the tournament favourites lost 7-6 on penalties at home to second-division outsiders Annecy after a 2-2 draw at the Velodrome.

OM were strongly fancied to go all the way and win the competition after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round, but instead they went out against opponents who had never previously reached the quarter-finals.

Jordan Veretout had Marseille in front at half-time after opening the scoring on his 30th birthday, but Annecy equalised early in the second half through young Ivorian striker Moise Sahi.

Defender Kevin Mouanga then headed Annecy in front, and the home side squandered a chance to equalise when Alexis Sanchez had a penalty saved, a spot-kick that had been awarded for handball following a VAR check.

Yet Marseille, the 10-time French Cup winners, did equalise in the 96th minute when a cross by teenage substitute Francois Regis Mughe sailed into the net to the delight of the home fans.

With no extra time before the final, that meant penalties, but it was Annecy, sitting in mid-table in Ligue 2, who prevailed in sudden death when Marseille's Leonardo Balerdi put the crucial kick wide.

"That was great! This is why we do this job," said the Annecy coach, Laurent Guyot.

"I am pleased for the players, many of whom are new to Ligue 2 and whose careers have been a bit chaotic. We will savour this on the bus home."

Annecy, who were a regional league club a decade ago, now join three top-flight sides in Thursday's draw for the semi-finals, with Lyon, Nantes and Toulouse already having progressed.

Holders Nantes remain on course to retain the trophy after beating Lens 2-1 earlier on Wednesday with Andy Delort scoring two penalties for the Canaries.

Toulouse outclassed second-division Rodez 6-1, while Lyon beat Ligue 2 side Grenoble 2-1 on Tuesday as they hope to win their first silverware since last lifting the French Cup in 2012.