Cup win was best response to defeat – Blanc

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Laurent Blanc was pleased with the response of his players after their Ligue 1 unbeaten run ended at the weekend, a 3-1 win at Saint-Etienne sealing a place in the Coupe de France semi-finals.

Edinson Cavani slotted the holders into an early lead from Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brilliant throughball and Marquinhos tapped in a second after the strikers had combined.

Valentin Eysseric’s penalty just before the interval made it a tense second half, but Lucas Moura’s superb solo run confirmed PSG’s progression to the last four, where they will face Lorient.

Blanc’s side were beaten 2-1 at Lyon on Sunday, ending a 36-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1, and the coach was satisfied with his team’s recovery at Saint-Etienne.

“The best answer after the defeat to Lyon was to give tonight,” he said. 

“Players are challenged. We found some values ​​missing on Sunday night.”

Blanc added Stade Geoffroy Guichard is a “difficult” ground to win at, despite PSG beating Saint-Etienne for the fourth time this season and for a 10th successive meeting.

“Saint-Etienne is a difficult place to play and win. It’s always trouble,” Blanc said. 

“I do not see a lot of teams that easily win ​​here. For the team and for the stadium, the atmosphere at 2-0, it was committed. 

“We made ​​a mistake in the 43rd minute which cost us a penalty. We could have avoided a difficult second period.”