What We're Reading
Montpellier Dumps PSG Out of French Cup
- Associated Press, Friday, January 24, 2014 1:15 PM
Paris Saint-Germain’s hopes of a domestic treble are over after a surprise loss at home to Montpellier in the French Cup Round of 32 on Wednesday. Coach Laurent Blanc, whose team had scored 15 goals in its previous four games, decided to rest striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu for the game, a decision which backfired when stand-in goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez failed to come for a cross that was headed home by Montpellier defender Daniel Congre in the 20th minute.
"We've played really well during the month of January, but tonight we didn't and that annoyed me," Blanc said after the loss. "We didn't do what we had to do and we were punished by a Montpellier side that took their chances very, very well."
Though Uruguay international Edinson Cavani equalized for PSG 10 minutes after Congre’s goal, poor marking allowed Colombian forward Victor Hugo Montano to head home a 69th-minute winner for the 16th-place Montpellier. "It's an upset, I hope we won't be too tired against Nice on Saturday, but it's extraordinary to win here in Paris," Montpellier owner Louis Nicollin said. "It was impossible. They'd scored five at the weekend (against Nantes)."
