A night that will be remembered for a long time in the history of French football. It’s impossible to grasp the forces that swirl around small clubs during the Cup, but whatever they may be, they are immensely powerful. They transform the timid into warriors, the small into Hercules, and the great and mighty into vulnerable and flawed beings. Perhaps all of this is merely the fantasy of a person sitting at a computer, scribbling away, hoping that such wild events could be turned into reality—but isn’t madness sometimes beautiful? For that very reason, we witnessed incredible events in the round of 32 matches. The toppling of giants by the underdogs is the only way to describe what happened on pitches across France this evening. Rennes was the first to lay down their arms before the weaker side, losing to Troyes. Then Lyon followed suit, falling short against fifth-tier Bourgoin-Jallieu.PSG are losing against Espaly, an amateur team from the 5th tier 😱pic.twitter.com/vU7XJKL6ri— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) January 15, 2025 Another sensation was almost in the making. Espaly, another lower-league team, had PSG on the ropes, holding them in check until the very end. It was only when Luis Enrique’s squad brought on Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos that they avoided penalties, winning 4-2. Espaly doesn’t have the budget or the history of the Saints, but tonight they showed the size of their heart. The hosts played as if their lives depended on this match, aware that they might never face such a rival again. They fought like hungry dogs, took the lead only to lose it, came back again, but Barcola’s strike brought them to the ground with no way back.Luis Enrique decided to shuffle his lineup for this match, but even so, the Saints had to sweat profusely to overcome the tenacious hosts. The stadium where Espaly plays resembles more of a training ground, but it very nearly became the graveyard of the most powerful and wealthiest club in France. We’re not exaggerating when we say it wouldn’t have been undeserved if that had happened. The tiny Espaly showed a heart as big as a mountain; this time, it just wasn’t enough.##NAJAVA_MECA_8633275##
