Marseille advances in French Cup despite early red card

PARIS (AP) — Defending French Cup champion Nantes and 10-time winner Marseille won their matches in the round of 64 on Saturday, but top-flight teams Monaco, Nice and Clermont all went out.

Last season’s runner-up Nice lost at third-tier Le Puy 1-0 and Monaco blew a 2-0 lead against second-tier Rodez before losing on penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw. Monaco could have won the shootout, but Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin blazed his shot over the bar.

Earlier, Olympique Strasbourg, an amateur club which plays in the Alsace regional league, knocked out Clermont on penalties following a 0-0 draw.

Marseille, however, coped with an early sending off to win at fourth-tier Hyères 2-0.

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 French Cup trophies in 1989 and has since lost four times in the final.

Nantes won at fifth-tier Vire 2-0 and Rennes winger Jérémy Doku grabbed a second-half winner in a 2-1 victory at Bordeaux, which is chasing promotion from the second division.

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.

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

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

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