Cup win was best response to defeat - Blanc
Laurent Blanc was satisfied with the performance of his Paris Saint-Germain side in a 3-1 Coupe de France victory at Saint-Etienne.
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Laurent Blanc was pleased with the response of his players after their Ligue 1 unbeaten run ended at the weekend, a 3-1 win at Saint-Etienne sealing a place in the Coupe de France semi-finals.
Edinson Cavani slotted the holders into an early lead from Zlatan Ibrahimovic's brilliant throughball and Marquinhos tapped in a second after the strikers had combined.
Valentin Eysseric's penalty just before the interval made it a tense second half, but Lucas Moura's superb solo run confirmed PSG's progression to the last four, where they will face Lorient.
Blanc's side were beaten 2-1 at Lyon on Sunday, ending a 36-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1, and the coach was satisfied with his team's recovery at Saint-Etienne.
"The best answer after the defeat to Lyon was to give tonight," he said.
"Players are challenged. We found some values missing on Sunday night."
Blanc added Stade Geoffroy Guichard is a "difficult" ground to win at, despite PSG beating Saint-Etienne for the fourth time this season and for a 10th successive meeting.
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"Saint-Etienne is a difficult place to play and win. It's always trouble," Blanc said.
"I do not see a lot of teams that easily win here. For the team and for the stadium, the atmosphere at 2-0, it was committed.
"We made a mistake in the 43rd minute which cost us a penalty. We could have avoided a difficult second period."
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