Saint-Etienne vs. PSG: Winners and Losers from French Cup

Paris Saint-Germain moved a step closer to defending their Coupe de France crown on Wednesday night, knocking out Saint-Etienne with a 3-1 victory at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Laurent Blanc’s men took a 2-0 first-half lead over the hosts before a penalty from Valentin Eysseric gave the home side a lifeline.

The second half was a much tighter affair, with Saint-Etienne pushing for an equaliser. However, the away side defended the box well, dealt with a barrage of crosses into the box and sealed the win with an injury-time solo effort from Lucas Moura.

PSG now progress into the semi-finals where they will face Breton side FC Lorient for a place at the Stade de France at the end-of-season showpiece.

Here are the winners and losers from PSG’s 3-1 win over Saint-Etienne in the Coupe de France.

After a quiet game against Lyon on Sunday, Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to winning ways on Wednesday as he stepped up to play his part in both of PSG's goals.

The first required great vision to pick out Edinson Cavani with a lovely reverse pass after just 12 minutes—the Uruguayan finished calmly with his left foot.

Ten minutes before the half-time break it was Zlatan's low cross that met the back heel of Cavani before Marquinhos tapped it in at the back post, as described by Jonathan Johnson of ESPNFC.

The rest of the game was fairly quiet, but those two glimpses of class from the Swedish forward were enough to get PSG the win and see them through to the semi-finals.

It was a night to forget for the older of the Pogba brothers, with Florentin seemingly involved in all three of PSG's goals on Wednesday.

Pogba played Cavani onside for the opening goal. He was deeper than his teammates—if he'd been in line, the Parisian forward would have been flagged offside.

Saint-Etienne had started the game well. They were closing down the PSG midfield, squeezing the game and denying the away side pace. Pogba's error showed that even the slightest lapse in concentration can cost you dearly.

Marquinhos then ran behind the defender to score the second, and the 25-year-old could have done better to hold off Lucas before the Brazilian scored the third and final goal.

There was a sense of deja vu from Wednesday's fixture. Kevin Malcuit was part of a Saint-Etienne side that conceded two goals and lost to PSG—similar to the 2-0 defeat back in January.

Once again, the right-back impressed at both ends of the pitch against the best club in France. It was his daring run that won Saint-Etienne a penalty late in the first half—which Eysseric tucked away.

His lung-busting runs were a feature of Saint-Etienne's attacking play. He has shown he has a capable right foot and was unlucky not to pick out one of his teammates in the second half. It wasn't for a lack of trying—perfectly summed up when he went down with a cramp in the dying minutes of the game after another strong dart up the right flank.

Watching his performances against PSG, it is surprising that he has only played six times in Ligue 1 since joining from Niort. Perhaps this display will show head coach Christophe Galtier that the 24-year-old is worthy of more minutes over the next few weeks.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man did not have the best game against Lyon on Sunday, and that poor form continued against Saint-Etienne.

Benjamin Stambouli didn't come on until the 67th minute on Wednesday, but it only took him 60 seconds to pick up a yellow card for a poor tackle on Eysseric. He has often looked off the pace, and he just hasn't looked sure of himself in this squad.

You have to question why Blanc felt the need to bring on the former Montpellier man, rather than give young midfielder Christopher Nkunku a chance to show why he was handed a professional deal this season.