Ligue1.com – Last 16 reactions

FC Nantes coach Vahid Halilhodzic set his sights on securing a place in the Coupe de France final as a tribute to former striker Emiliano Sala after reaching the last eight of the competition on Tuesday.

 FC Nantes 2 – 0 Toulouse FC  

Vahid Halilhodzic (Nantes coach): “It was a good game. We played well, even if we lost some balls stupidly and Toulouse could have taken advantage. We created quite a few chances. Unfortunately, we were a little short in terms of our finishing, but qualifying is the most important thing. The cup could bring us something special, a little bit of happiness. In two games, we could be in the final. If the draw is kind to us, why not reach the final? It would be a tribute for [Emiliano Sala]. We’re getting back on our feet slowly. It’s almost a new start. We’re still delicate, but each win will strengthen us mentally and we’re going to continue on our way.”

Alain Casanova (Toulouse coach): “We had a few problems with some Nantes attacks when we didn’t defend well. We conceded the first goal after a couple of warnings, but you could see we had problems with a lot of transitions. They were really up for it, they’re very powerful, and when they win the ball back, they go forward very quickly. Overall, even though the team tried to play and had some promising situations, it wasn’t enough.”

 SC Bastia 2 – 2 SM Caen  – SM Caen win 5-3 on penalties

Fabien Mercadal (Caen coach): “We have to capitalise on this result to get another at Amiens. We have to look at the positives, we got through. It’s very difficult to play a good Coupe de France match against these kinds of teams. Everyone was looking forward to it in Bastia. We are in a tough spell, and the fact that they play good football made us doubt a bit. Wins bring wins. We have to get back to that. We need to win Ligue 1 games now. We’re happy to be in the quarter-finals, but the aim is Ligue 1 survival.”

 IC Croix Football 0 – 3 Dijon FCO 

Antoine Kombouaré (Dijon coach): “When you look at the first half, qualification was achieved with a lot of discipline and quality, because we started in the way we wanted. We needed to show Croix that we had come with the intention of taking control of the game and scoring very quickly. We also had the good fortune to have one of our opponents sent off. Having said that, I’m not happy with the second half.

>> MATCH REPORTS: Nantes, Dijon and Caen through to quarters

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