PARIS — Paris Saint Germain's ambitions of a domestic double collapsed Wednesday when Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva missed the first two attempts in a penalty shootout after their French Cup quarterfinal against Evian Thonon Gaillard had finished in a 1-1 draw. The wealthy Paris club has a nine-point lead in Ligue 1 with six games remaining, while Evian is only three points above the relegation zone. “We said after the draw that it was the best thing for us to regroup in hard times. I hope we now will build momentum and stay in the top flight,” Evian coach Pascal Dupraz told French television France 3. Evian, which has never reached the semifinals, will take on Lorient in the next round, while Ligue 1 bottom club Troyes will host Girondins Bordeaux, which qualified thanks to a 3-2 victory at second-tier Lens. The semifinals are scheduled for May 7 and 8. PSG, which was eliminated on penalties in the League Cup last eight at St Etienne, seemed on track when Javier Pastore fired the ball into the net after just eight minutes to put it in front. Goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez, though, had to make a string of to superb saves to deny long-range efforts from Mohamed Rabiu and Saber Khlifa. He could not prevent the latter from leveling the score four minutes before the break following a quick counter-attack. Matters got worse for PSG and Ibrahimovic hit the woodwork in the 57th minute while Thiago Motta was shown a straight red card with three minutes to go for a kick on Cedric Barbosa's knee. Earlier, a laboring Bordeaux team was rescued by a late Cheikh Diabate double. Lens took the lead in the 11th minute when the ball hit the post then bounced on keeper Cedric Carrasso's back to enter the goal. Bordeaux levelled just before the hour mark with a Gregory Sertic free kick and Diabate scored two in five minutes to seal the victory with five minutes remaining. Ancelotti slams players' attitude Carlo Ancelotti slammed his players' attitude at Evian but the Italian coach took responsibility for the embarrassing elimination. “It is a huge disappointment especially because of the team's attitude,” Ancelotti was quoted as saying in French media Thrusday. On Wednesday, PSG was nothing like the team which held firm against the Spanish champion. “There was no concentration, no character, too much self-importance,” Ancelotti said. “The season is not finished but tonight is a disaster. I am sorry. It is my responsibility.” The usually soft-spoken Ancelotti went as far as saying he had never seen PSG play that bad. “Was it our worst game? Yes. Am I upset against the players? Yes,” he said. “You can lose a game, but not in this fashion.” — Agencies
