Nice beat PSG on penalties: Coupe de France – Paris Saint-Germain have been knocked out of the Coupe de France at the last-16 stage after Nice won on penalties following a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes at the Parc des Princes. Three players missed their penalty kicks in the shootout but the miss from teenager Xavi Simons proved costly as Nice are into the Quarter-Finals of the Coupe de France competition. Follow InsideSport.IN for the latest news and updates.
Nice beat PSG on penalties: Penalty shootout drama as teenager Xavi Simons misses as PSG are knocked out of the Coupe de France
Lionel Messi looked sharp on his first start for the club in 2022, and he linked up with Mauro Icardi to set Marco Verratti up for a shot in the game’s first flashpoint in the 22nd minute but the Italian dragged his effort wide.
Nice have knocked PSG out of the Coupe de France on penalties 😳 pic.twitter.com/e9SLp4lWiL
— GOAL (@goal) January 31, 2022
Nice beat PSG on penalties: Nice beat PSG to enter the Coupe de France Quarter-finals
Nice had their first sight of goal moments later, with Amine Gouiri stinging the palms of Gianluigi Donnarumma with a free-kick from 30 yards out. PSG struggled to break down the stern defence from the visitors but Messi was involved again just before half-time, found in the box by Verratti but directing his shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Those struggles continued into the second half but the but it was Presnel Kimpembe who came closest to breaking the deadlock when he was found at the back post from a corner with his faint attempt being cleared off the line.
Nice beat PSG on penalties: Penalty shootout drama as teenager Xavi Simons misses and PSG are knocked out of the Coupe de FranceNice beat PSG on penalties: Teenager Xavi Simons misses penalty
Mauricio Pochettino’s side almost stole the game right at the death when substitute Kylian Mbappe managed to get on the end of a corner and poked a shot which flew across goal before being dealt with by the Nice defence.
The tie was to be decided by penalties, with the first five spot-kicks dispatched before Leandro Paredes saw his effort saved by Marcin Bułka. Donnarumma then denied Andy Delort, Julian Draxler and Gouiri made no mistake and so the shootout went to sudden death.
XAVI SIMMONS MISSES THE PENALTY. PSG ARE OUT! #PSGOGCN #PSGvsNice #PSG #PSGNiza #CoupeDeFrance pic.twitter.com/MxCvyIv40I
— JD🇪🇨 (@LeJu4n) January 31, 2022
18-year-old Xavi Simons was dealt the cruel blow of being the penalty taker to see his effort from 12 yards saved by Bulka to decide the tie.
Nice beat PSG on penalties: Penalty shootout drama as teenager Xavi Simons misses and PSG are knocked out of the Coupe de France