Coupe de France: Blas screamer fires holders Nantes into final | OneFootball

A sublime strike from Ludovic Blas was enough for Coupe de France holders Nantes to get past Lyon (1-0) and into the final once again - and the Nantes fans were over the moon. The Coupe dream is still on track in the west of France!

Honours were even (1-1) when Nantes travelled to Lyon for their Round 28 league clash a few weeks ago, but there was no sharing of the spoils on Wednesday night after Ludovic Blas conjured a champagne strike to decide the semi-final and send holders Nantes through to the final step in their Coupe de France title defence. "It's incredible, we dreamed of this," said a very happy Ludovic Blas after the match. "We are the title holders so it was important for us to keep it and play it again at the Stade de France. We played a good defensive game. I hope there will be as many fans as the last time at the Stade de France." Blas: 'I had to improvise'

It was a great display from Les Canaris but make no mistake: Blas' decisive strike was a goal of the highest quality and the perfect way to keep Nantes' Coupe - and, by extension, European - dream alive.

"Fabien [Centonze, right-back] saw me get in behind the defence and he put a great ball in for me," recounted Blas. "Then I had to improvise because I had my back to the goal, so it was the right thing to do; it was all I could do. I controlled it well, touched it with my shoulder to bring it back to me and then I followed through quickly. The defender got close to countering, so the shot was just right - which is great for us!" 'Exceptional fans'

The fans - who were in full voice at the Stade de la Beaujoire as Laurent Blanc's Lyon came calling - were sent into raptures and once the final whistle blew, a full-scale pitch invasion took place as they team and the fans celebrated their achievement together.

"You don't play a semi-final every day, especially not at home, with fans like this," explained Nantes boss Antoine Kombouaré. "There is a fantastic communion and we had a huge match, a complete match. The victory is well deserved, and our exceptional fans played a big part. It's fantastic, unique and rare. You do this job to experience these moments and share them with the fans."