The Stade Bollaert-Delelis was the site of PSG’s first Ligue 1 defeat of the 2022-23 season, with its occupants Lens serving up a 3-1 humbling of the champions earlier in January, but there would be no Coupe de France giant-killing when the capital club and sixth-tier Pays de Cassel locked horns in the North.
Five-star Kylian Mbappe came up with a quintet of goals against the minnows, while Neymar and Carlos Soler also got in on the act in a 7-0 romping, where Galtier was not afraid to field the majority of his big hitters in order to avoid the shock of all shocks.
Setting up a tantalising last-16 tie with Classique rivals Marseille, PSG – who have also returned from a Saudi Arabia sojourn with a 5-4 win over Cristiano Ronaldo and the Riyadh All-Stars XI – now set out to return to winning ways in Ligue 1 after being nullified by a depleted Rennes side 1-0 at Roazhon Park on January 15.
Galtier’s champions still boast a three-point lead over Lens at the top of the table, and while Sang et Or could move level on points with PSG if they beat Troyes on Saturday, their inferior goal difference means that Les Parisiens should not be in any danger of losing first place for now.
PSG’s customary domestic title is far from a guarantee, though – with Marseille also just five points behind the capital giants – but they have won each of their last seven Ligue 1 contests at the Parc des Princes and are unbeaten in 31 top-flight home games since a 1-0 loss to Lille in April 2021
Scoring multiple goals without reply was also on the agenda for Reims in the last 32 of the Coupe de France, as Still’s men strolled past fourth-tier Les Herbiers, with prolific Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun breaking the deadlock from the spot before the break.
Alexis Flips and Martin Adeline also made the net ripple in the second 45 to seal a comfortable win for Reims, who now prepare to tackle Toulouse in the last 16, and the astonishing feats of Still are not going unnoticed.
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The 1992-born coach has now gone unbeaten in 11 successive matches in all tournaments since taking over from Oscar Garcia, and a 0-0 draw with Nice in their last Ligue 1 contest has left Les Rouges et Blancs 11th in the Ligue 1 table, level with Les Aiglons and ninth-placed Lyon on 25 points.
Still’s managerial inexperience has meant nothing for a defensively sound Reims side, who have kept clean sheets in each of their last four games in all tournaments, and their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 stands at an impressive 11 matches – although seven of those games have ended with the spoils being shared.
That run includes a goalless stalemate against PSG at the Stade Auguste-Delaune in October, but Les Parisiens have posted back-to-back 4-0 wins in their last two home contests against Reims, whose last goal against the hosts came all the way back in September 2019.
