French Cup: Strasbourg draw against Reims, semi-final for the first time since 2001

In the end there were plenty of penalties to be taken as Strasbourg converted twice from the spot in the last seven minutes to record a 2-1 French Cup quarter-final victory over Reims on Tuesday.

First division Strasbourg repeatedly came close to the second-tier visitors, but the match was still scoreless after 83 minutes when the hosts were awarded a penalty after the ball struck Spanish-Irish midfielder John Patrick on the arm.

Argentina striker Joaquin Panichelli and Paraguayan winger Julio Enciso both stepped forward to take the kick.

After a confrontation in which neither man was willing to give up the ball, diminutive Argentine midfielder Valentin Barco stepped between them and led Enciso away.

Panichelli bravely rammed the ball into the center of the goal. It hit the underside of the crossbar, shot down and bounced off the roof of the net again as the jubilant striker bounced towards the corner flag.

Four minutes later, David Datro Fofana danced past two defenders but was brought down by goalkeeper Alexandre Olliero. With Panichelli replaced, Enciso had no rivals for the penalty, which he also drilled through the middle, albeit along the ground, and past the diving Olliero.

That made him the top scorer of this year’s cup with six goals. He celebrated by putting his finger to his lips. “The first one was for me,” Panichelli said BeIN Sports at the end. “I’m very happy he could score the second.”

As time expired, Patrick Zabi pulled a goal back for the visitor four minutes into extra time.

Strasbourg qualified for the last four for the first time since 2001, a season in which it won the cup for the third time.

With Paris Saint-Germain, winners of the last two years and in eight of the last 11 seasons, already eliminated, the 2023 winner of Toulouse is the most recent cup holder of the last eight.

It visits Marseille, which won the last of the ten cups in 1989, on Wednesday after Lorient hosts Nice. Lens, whose Ligue 1 title challenge is fading and who has never won the cup, visits Lyon on Thursday.

Published on March 4, 2026