April 02, (THEWILL) – With just three days left until the semi-finals of the Coupe de France, FC Nantes did not provide much reassurance to their fans as they suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat at home against Reims.
In the midst of a battle to avoid relegation, Antoine Kombouaré decided to field his strongest team against Reims, but it was a demonstration of strength from the visiting team that took place on Sunday. Even the presence of Moses Simon, who featured for a full hour before being substituted, did not help the hosts.
While the context of the Coupe de France makes drawing conclusions from this defeat irrelevant, the defending champions would certainly have wanted to avoid such a debacle in front of their own fans as they look for confidence before that crucial Cup game.
In just two minutes, the Canaris were overwhelmed by two goals from Alexis Flips in the 38th and the 39th minutes, with Folarin Balogun actively involved. Marshall Munetsi then delivered the final blow to Ludovic Blas and his teammates just before the hour mark. In the aftermath of this defeat, Antoine Kombouaré can count his side lucky that Andrei Girotto, who planted his studs on a Reims player’s shin, only received a yellow card when a red card seemed inevitable. Thankfully, Girotto will be available for the semi-final against Lyon.
Yet, that is a small mercy for the Canaris, who are slipping dangerously down the table. With this loss, they now have only a four-point lead over the relegation zone, with Auxerre having won against Troyes on Saturday. While Nantes play in the Cup tie on Wednesday, Reims host Brest on Sunday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
