PARIS (AP) — Marseille’s long wait for a trophy continues after it twice threw away the lead against Toulouse before losing on penalties in the French Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Following a 2-2 draw Marseille lost the shootout 4-3 with 18-year-old loan signing Ethan Nwaneri in tears after missing the decisive kick.
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Some fans threw flares onto the field at the final whistle as Marseille’s players went off to a chorus of boos. The club has not won any silverware since the League Cup in 2012 and last won the French Cup in 1989.
In Wednesday’s other quarterfinal, Nice won 6-5 on penalties following a 0-0 draw with Lorient. Nice won the last of its three French Cups in 1997.
Marseille’s defense collapses again
Marseille has not been past the quarterfinals since 2016, when it lost to bitter rival Paris Saint-Germain in the final.
Boosted by a dramatic win over Ligue 1 rival Lyon on Sunday, Marseille opened the scoring in the second minute through Mason Greenwood’s penalty after being fouled by defender Rasmus Nicolaisen.
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Toulouse, which crushed Nantes 5-1 in the 2023 final, leveled 10 minutes later through striker Yann Gboho after a corner.
Brazilian winger Igor Paixão followed up his brilliant strike against Lyon with another fine goal from the left as he cut inside and delightfully curled the ball over the goalkeeper’s head in the 56th.
But poor defending has dogged Marseille for several seasons and Toulouse hit back again within minutes through Charlie Cresswell’s header following another corner, with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and error-prone defender Leonardo Balerdi nowhere near the ball. Balerdi also missed his kick during the penalty shootout.
For Marseille’s new coach Habib Beye, it was a second French Cup defeat of the season. Last month he was in charge of Rennes when it lost 3-0 to Marseille in the previous round.
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Strasbourg qualified for the semis with a scrappy win against second-tier Reims on Tuesday.
Five-time winner Lyon hosts Lens in the last quarterfinal on Thursday. ___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
