Monaco wins heavyweight cup clash after epic shootout
Monaco beat Lens 6-5 in an astonishing 18-kick penalty shootout in the Coupe de France to progress to the Round of 32 in dramatic fashion.
The Ligue 1 sides couldn't be separated after 90 minutes, level at 2-2 after Lens came back from 2-0 down in a pulsating encounter at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
The visitors got off to a flyer, Wissam Ben Yedder scoring inside the opening minute before Maghnes Akliouche added a second just after the 20 minute mark.
But Lens pulled one back through Faitout Maouassa two minutes before the break, and after drawing level on 62 minutes through Florian Sotoca, the hosts had all the chances they needed to claim a result in normal time, but just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net.
Ben Yedder also had a brilliant chance to steal it at the death for Monaco, but his shot was superbly saved by Brice Samba at his near post and after a flurry of corners at the other end which Lens couldn't turn into goals, the shootout ensued.
After a flurry of saves and misses, the last from Lens's Adrien Thomasson, 20-year-old Soungoutou Magassa held his nerve to put Monaco into the next round by beating Samba to the delight of the travelling fans.
