“Stand up, stand up! The ultras did not even wait for half-time to invite Coubertin to the party during this quarter-final of the Coupe de France on Thursday. It was the 21st minute of play, Paris led 15-4 against their great rival Montpellier and already had their ticket in their pocket for the last four. The MHB did not exist and PSG transformed this clash between quarter-finalists of the Champions League into a walk. “It’s exhilarating when everything goes like this to perfection,” smiled Parisian captain Luka Karabatic. Paris-Montpellier is always special matches where we try to put an extra soul. We wanted to mark them and we put our mark on the match. They were asphyxiated. The trophy holder joins Toulouse, Chartres and Nantes in the semi-finals. The draw will take place on Tuesday, April 26. This Cup, Paris is keen on it. It was enough to see the rage with which Nikola Karabatic, 38, raised the ball and celebrated his goals (6/6 in shooting) arms spread out facing the stands, like in the good old days. Gérard and the Karabatic, the hello of the old Montpellier was entitled to the hello of its great old, the Karabatic brothers (11 cumulative goals) and especially Vincent Gérard. The goalkeeper of the France team, too, had plenty of time to harangue the public, lining up monstrous parades: 18 in the end at 45%, plus two goals scored in an empty cage! “We started in a catastrophic way, lamented Valentin Porte, the Hérault captain. After ten minutes the game was almost over. “At 7-2 (9th), no one wondered if the regulations provided for extra time or directly a penalty shootout in the event of a draw. The MHB, which had nevertheless won its last six matches, did not help its case by multiplying the shots off target, lost balls and defensive omissions. “The most embarrassing are the attitudes,” admitted Montpellier winger Yanis Lenne.
Patrice Canayer may have taken his downtime at full speed, but the gap has continued to widen, exceeding the record correction suffered here by Montpellier in December 2014 (36-20). Paris signs its tenth victory in a row over the MHB, in all competitions. Ruthless.