An
early Karim Benzema goal gave French Cup holders Olympique Lyon a 1-0
win over Olympique Marseille and a ticket to the last 16 on Wednesday.
France striker Benzema
capitalised after a blunder by the Marseille defence to open the
scoring from close range two minutes into the game in Lyon.
Lyon will visit Ligue 1 rivals Lille in early March for a place in the quarter-finals.
The
match will be a special occasion for Lyon coach Claude Puel, who joined
the seven-times French champions from Lille at the end of last season.
"We controlled the match and it was a logical win," Puel told reporters after a tense game marred by a few ugly scenes.
Lyon
played the last 30 minutes with 10 men after Ivory Coast forward Kader
Keita was sent off for a second booking but Marseille, who have won the
Cup a record 10 times, rarely looked in contention.
The
visitors had a great chance to level the tie deep in added time but
susbtitute striker Sylvain Wiltord was denied by a fine save from Lyon
keeper Hugo Lloris.
Marseille lost striker
Bakari Kone after 20 minutes when the Ivory Coast striker had to be
substituted after being unintentionally knocked in the head by Lloris's
knee. Kone was carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital for
checks.
- Benzema nearly doubled Lyon's advantage
when he raced into the area and hit the post with angled shot five
minutes into the second half.
