Bafana Bafana international Lebogang Phiri featured the entire ninety minutes as Guingamp succumbed to a 4-2 defeat against Coupe de France holders Paris Saint-Germain.
Beaten away to Lyon in Ligue 1 action on Sunday, Unai Emery’s men were forced to battle hard in staving off the plucky visitors as they eventually booked a place in the last-16.
The celebrations were particularly muted for an off-colour Edinson Cavani as the Uruguay international’s wayward finishing, and Karl-Johan Johnsson’s inspired goalkeeping, prolonged his wait to become PSG’s all-time leading scorer.
Instead, it was an Adrien Rabiot header and a Lucas Deaux own goal in the space of four first-half minutes that gave the hosts a two-goal lead midway through the opening period.
Marcus Thuram pulled one back from the spot late in the half and, after Javier Pastore restored the two-goal advantage after the break, Guingamp gained another glimmer of hope courtesy of Yeni N’Gbakoto spot-kick.
That was to be the last of their joy, with Marquinhos heading in a late coner to confirm the holders’ progression in spite of their star forward Cavani’s worrying performance.
