After a tight match and an agonising penalty shootout, OGC Nice secured their place in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France at Le Moustoir (0-0, 5-6 on penalties).

The Coupe de France has definitely been a crazy ride for OGC Nice this season! After qualifying on penalties in Nantes in the round of 32 (1-1, 3-5 on penalties) and coming from behind against Montpellier in the round of 16 (3-2), Lady Cup has once again provided Le Gym supporters with a Hitchcockian scenario. At the heart of the plot: 16 penalties. The main character: Yehvann Diouf. Back in goal for the Côte d'Azur side on Wednesday at Le Moustoir, the Senegalese international donned his hero's cape when his teammates found themselves trailing 3-1 after the first three penalties. His destiny? To save two penalties from Lorient, the first to keep his team alive, the second to qualify them for the semi-finals of France's oldest competition.

A TIGHT GAME

A completely crazy, utterly irrational penalty shootout brought the magic of the Cup to life. Before this crazy finish, the Rouge et Noir struggled to make their mark against an opponent on a roll, beaten only once in their last 16 games and who had stunned the Allianz Riviera by equalising in added time ten days ago in Ligue 1 (Matchday 23, 3-3).

Set up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Tanguy Ndombele, Kaïl Boudache and Zoumana Diallo leading the attack, Claude Puel's men came up against a Lorient defence known for its solidity, which became impenetrable after Pablo Pagis was rightly sent off for a reckless tackle on Charles Vanhoutte just before half-time (44'). After an evenly matched first half, the game remained tight in the second, with neither side managing a single shot on target, despite eleven attempts in total from the Côte d'Azur side.

However, it was Le Gym who created the biggest chance of the game: a header from Morgan Sanson following a perfect cross from Jonathan Clauss, which unfortunately went wide by a few centimetres (75'). Taking advantage of their numerical superiority, Les Aiglons pushed hard at the end of the match and could have taken the lead if Tom Louchet and Mohamed-Ali Cho had executed their counterattack better (90') or if Jonathan Claus's cross-shot had found a teammate instead of Bingourou Kamara's arms (90'+1).

YéVHANN DIOUF THE HERO

But when Nice supporters look back on this evening of March 4, 2026 at Le Moustoir, they will definitely remember what happened after normal time. As in any good film, Lady Cup had saved the best for last in the third act and the penalty shootout, which was both beautiful and cruel. Unlike their qualification in the round of 32 in Nantes, the Azuréens thought this one was getting away from them. After three attempts, Le Gym were trailing 3-1, with Gabin Bernardeau and Tom Louchet failing to find the back of the net, unlike Jonathan Clauss.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Claude Puel's players clung to the last glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Sambou Soumano was stopped by Yehvann Diouf, then Arthur Avom Ebong missed the target, allowing the Rouge et Noir to stay alive despite two match points in favour of Les Merlus. What happened next? An absolutely extraordinary end to the tie. Nice's last five penalty takers - Morgan Sanson, Antoine Mendy, Kevin Carlos, Charles Vanhoutte and Mohamed-Ali Cho - all converted their penalties, putting their team in front. This set the stage perfectly for the star of the evening, their goalkeeper, who made one last decisive save from Bamo Meïté's shot to send the Nice fans into seventh heaven.

The Aiglons have not reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France since the 2021-2022 season. They will have the opportunity to play in another one during the week of 20 April. The draw will take place on Thursday 5 March, shortly after 7:50 p.m.

Le Gym will return to L1 action this Sunday, hosting Rennes (Matchday 25, 5:15 pm).

They will be looking to build on the energy gained from a magnificent evening to get back on track in the league...