RENNES, France :Paris St Germain’s Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick to lead the French champions to a crushing 7-0 win over fourth-tier Stade Briochin in the Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Following shock wins over Ligue 1 sides Nice and Le Havre, the hosts’ fairytale run in the competition was ended by a ruthless PSG team bidding to win the Cup for the 16th time.
“It’s a perfect evening because we’ve achieved our goal of qualifying for the semi-finals and giving other players a chance to show their stuff,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said.
“I’d like to congratulate Stade Briochin on their wonderful run and their performance this evening.”
Joao Neves opened the scoring after 16 minutes when he pounced on a rebound off the crossbar to score at the far post. Ramos doubled the lead in the 36th minute with a close-range finish from Senny Mayulu’s cross.
Ramos bagged his second from the penalty spot soon after the interval before setting up Desire Doue to make it 4-0.
Doue teed up the Portuguese striker for his third goal, his first hat-trick for PSG, and the 19-year-old also created the sixth for Mayulu.
Substitute Ousmane Dembele completed the rout five minutes from time, netting his first goal in the cup and 25th in all competitions this season.
PSG, unbeaten since November, next face Lille in the Ligue 1 before hosting Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.
“We’ve scored 17 goals in our last three games, so that’s not bad at all. We’re going to keep improving and getting stronger so that we can go all the way,” Luis Enrique added.
“We have room for improvement in every match. We have some extremely young players and that’s starting to pay off. I’m pleased with the way we’re playing.”
Second tier Dunkerque, who knocked out Lille on penalties in the previous round, secured their second big upset with a 3-2 win over Brest to reach the semis.
Reims beat fellow Ligue 1 side Angers 5-3 on penalties on Tuesday and fourth-tier Cannes knocked out Ligue 2 Guingamp 3-1.
