Paris leave it late to qualify

Paris Saint-Germain comfortably defeated amateur side Linas-Montlhery in the last round, but were made to work a lot harder for their place in the Last 16 by the leaders of the second division. 

With the visitors enjoying the lion's share of possession and the hosts keeping things tight and compact, the Rouge-et-Bleu had to work hard to find space.

There were some half-opportunities for Mauro Icardi (7'), Pablo Sarabia (10', 12'), Angel Di Maria (12') and Colin Dagba (17'), but the Breton rearguard held firm while their pacy forwards posed a threat at the opposite end. Lorient created the best opportunity before the break as Wissa's header almost found its way past Sergio Rico (36'). Angel Di Maria had a chance with a late free-kick, but could not find his way past the wall (45').

The half-time interval did nothing to change the intentions of Thomas Tuchel's men, but neither did it alter the determination of the Breton hosts. Di Maria hit a shot that struck a Lorient hand, but no spot-kick was given (60').

The Rouge-et-Bleu upped the tempo. Icardi would have broken the deadlock with a header at the back post only for Nardi to deny him (65') and Thiago Silva then tested the Lorient 'keeper (69'). An Icardi backheel did not find its way through either (76') before Le Goff reminded the visitors they needed to be careful (77').

They were, and in the end, Parisian persistence paid off: Sarabia had already gone close just two minutes earlier when he headed home a Thiago Silva cross (0-1, 80'). The hosts tried to respond, but in the end, failed to muster a single shot on target all game. 

Mission accomplished, before more cup action in midweek: the Coupe de la Ligue semi-final in Reims on Wednesday.