Holders Paris Saint-Germain beat Strasbourg 2-0 in the round of 32 of the Coupe de France on Wednesday, while Dijon FCO claimed a stunning 6-3 win away at AS Saint-Etienne.
Coupe de France, round of 32
Paris Saint-Germain 2 – 0 RC Strasbourg Alsace 
PSG stay on course to win the trophy for the fifth season in a row after easing past in-form Strasbourg on a freezing night at the Parc des Princes, with Edinson Cavani and Ángel di María getting their goals.
With Kylian Mbappé rested, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was handed a rare start, just his fourth for the club. The Cameroon striker duly set up the opening goal which arrived inside four minutes, chesting down a Thiago Silva ball on the edge of the box before teeing up Cavani for an expert first-time finish.
That was the home side’s only reward for a dominant first-half performance in which Di María also hit the post. Neymar Jr was in the mood too, notably forcing an excellent save from Matz Sels at a free-kick.
Neymar comes off
However, the Brazilian came off just after the hour mark with an apparent foot injury, as Moussa Diaby took his place. Paris will hope the problem is nothing serious as their UEFA Champions League tie against Manchester United looms ever closer on the horizon.
Despite that, a Strasbourg side missing a host of rested first-team regulars could not find an equaliser, and Thomas Tuchel’s side sealed their place in the round of 16 when Di María made it 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining as he sidefooted into the roof of the net from Julian Draxler’s flighted cross.
AS Saint-Etienne 3 – 6 Dijon FCO 
Saint-Etienne had seen their unbeaten home record come to an end in agonising fashion as they lost to bitter rivals Olympique Lyonnais at the weekend. And there was more misery for Les Verts on a snowy night at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Naïm Sliti was the star of the show for the visitors, having a hand in all of their goals. The Tunisian international set the ball rolling with a first-time finish from a Jules Keita cutback, although Loïs Diony soon levelled, pouncing to score after Dijon goalkeeper Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson spilled a shot by Yannis Salibur.
However, Julio Tavares squared for Sliti to restore Dijon’s lead just before the half-hour mark, and a remarkable burst of three goals in five minutes just after the break killed the tie.
First Sliti released Keita to run through and make it 3-1 in the 47th minute, and then Sliti converted a penalty for his hat-trick before the Tunisian slipped in Tavares to beat Stéphane Ruffier high at his near post (52′).
The stunned hosts were given some hope as Robert Beric pulled one back on the hour mark, and Kévin Monnet-Paquet made it 5-3 in the 64th minute. Nevertheless, Dijon sealed a memorable victory as Jordan Marié completed the rout in stoppage time.
St Pryvé St Hilaire FC (D4) 0 – 2 Stade Rennais FC 
After taking just a solitary point from their last two Ligue 1 Conforama outings, Rennes got back to winning ways as they eased to a 2-0 victory away to fourth-tier opponents in Orléans.
Rennes came into this game without Hatem Ben Arfa or Ismaïla Sarr, but Jordan Siebatcheu gave them the lead at the Stade de la Source in the 39th minute as he converted the loose ball after Adrien Hunou’s header had been saved.
Hunou then doubled their lead early in the second half, controlling a ball in from the right by Romain del Castillo before finishing in style, as Rennes advanced to the round of 16 ahead of Sunday’s trip to Paris on league duty.
Viry-Châtillon (D6) 0 – 6 SM Caen 
Sixth-tier minnows Viry-Châtillon had knocked out 2017 runners-up Angers SCO in the last round, but this tie against Caen proved a step too far for the side from the Paris suburbs.
Caen were three goals to the good inside the opening half-hour, with Yacine Bammou giving them an early lead, and dedicating his goal to the missing Emiliano Sala. The striker, who is feared dead after an aircraft he was travelling in disappeared over the English Channel on Monday, played with Bammou at FC Nantes.
Saîf-Eddine Khaoui then scored a brace, with the Tunisian netting from a free-kick taken from wide on the right and then running through for an emphatic finish to effectively finish the tie.
The Normandy outfit then added three more goals in the final 11 minutes, with Malik Tchokounté getting his first for the club before Adama Mbengue and youngster Jad Mouaddib also found the net as Caen march on.
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