Pablo Sarabia struck late to propel Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) into the last 16 of the French Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over a spirited Lorient.

Sarabia scored the lone goal of the match with a header with 10 minutes remaining to put Thomas Tuchel’s much-changed side into the next round after struggling to break the deadlock against the Ligue 2 leaders Lorient in an underwhelming contest.

PSG came into the match sans a host of injured stars including Edinson Cavani, Marco Verratti, Juan Bernat and Marquinhos.

With both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe on the bench, PSG looked a pale shadow of themselves and lacked the spark despite the presence of in-form striker Mauro Icardi.

The French champions were lucky to go into the break level after Yoane Wissa somehow managed to head Jimmy Cabot’s pinpoint cross wide from just a couple of yards out.

The second half continued to lack clear chances for either side, with Paul Nardi doing well to charge down Icardi’s close range header in the 68th minute before pushing Pablo Sarabia’s shot wide 11 minutes later.

However the 25-year-old could do nothing about Sarabia’s header seconds later, the Spaniard beautifully guiding home Thiago Silva’s cross to squeeze the top flight outfit home.

Earlier English forward Stephy Mavididi struck twice as Dijon fired four goals in the last 15 minutes of their all-Ligue 1 clash with Nimes to cruise to a 5-0 win.

Hosts Dijon were leading a tight tie by a single goal thanks to Jhonder Cadiz’s first half penalty when Mavididi begun a goal frenzy in the 75th minute.

Agencies