Lyon secure quarter-final place

A second-half strike from Brazilian midfielder Juninho Pernambucano steered Olympique Lyonnais to a 1-0 victory against second division SC Bastia. The win sees them book a place in the French Cup quarter-finals, where they will be keen to avoid in-form Stade Rennais FC after John Utaka scored all their goals in a 4-1 triumph against surprise-package SR Colmar.

Cup hoodoo
A 4-0 weekend win has left Lyon well on course for a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title, but the side have found French Cup success much harder to come by in recent years. Even though they have not won the competition for well over 30 years, there was never much doubt of this season's campaign being cut short just yet. Claudio Caçapa and Anthony Réveillère returned from long-term lay-offs as Juninho's 56th-minute strike secured victory.

Awesome Utaka
Both Cris and Lamine Diatta hit the woodwork and although it mattered not, similar profligacy in the next round and they could be made to pay. Rennes were the last team to do so in February when Utaka's hat-trick dealt them a 4-1 defeat and the Nigerian striker was again in awesome form tonight as he left Colmar in his wake. A third-minute strike set the tone, but it was three further goals in just six second-half minutes that ended the challenge of the fifth division minnows, who had equalised before the break courtesy of François Bader.

Nantes profit
In contrast to Lyon, FC Nantes Atlantique have fond memories of this competition, having won back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001. Haitian defender Pascal Pierre's strike just before half-time against Dijon FCO set them on course for another May date at the Stade de France, and as the Ligue 2 team pressed late on, late goals from Dennis Oliech and Olivier Quint secured a flattering 3-0 victory.