Marseille advances in French Cup despite early red card

Seattle Sports

PARIS (AP) — Marseille coped with an early sending off to win at fourth-tier Hyères 2-0 in the French Cup round of 64 on Saturday.

After central defender Eric Bailly was sent off in the 15th minute for a dangerous challenge, veteran striker Alexis Sanchez converted a penalty in first half stoppage time with a Panenka-style kick. Striker Bamba Dieng netted in the 71st after latching onto Matteo Guendouzi’s pass.

Marseille won the last of its 10 French Cup trophies in 1989 and has since lost four times in the final.

Lens is in second place in the first division but scraped a 2-0 win at fifth-tier Linas-Montlhéry, with late goals from midfielder Seko Fofana and forward Florian Sotoca.

Lyon beat second-division Metz 2-1 at home and Brest won at third-tier Avranches 2-0.

But Olympique Strasbourg, an amateur club which plays in the Alsace regional league, ensured a cup upset by knocking out top-tier Clermont on penalties following a 0-0 draw.

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Cup holder Nantes played later Saturday at fifth-tier Vire, while top-flight Monaco, Nice and Rennes also played.

On Friday, record 14-time champion Paris Saint-Germain labored to a 3-1 win at third-tier Châteauroux.

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