Paris St-Germain cruised to a 6-0 win over sixth-tier ESA Linas-Montlhery in the French Cup — and their opponents were understandably star-struck.
The amateur club’s players are almost entirely diehard PSG fans and the draw handed them a once-in-a-lifetime chance to face some of their heroes.
Linas-Montlhery coach Stephane Cabrelli is even a PSG season-ticket holder.
“I am 52 years old, I have been going to the Parc des Princes since I was six,” Cabrelli said. “The players I support all year round, playing against them, it’s obviously a little bizarre.”
His team take their name from Linas and Montlhery, neighbouring towns in the southern outskirts of Paris that have a combined population of just 7,000. The club are so far down the down French football pyramid they do not have a page on Wikipedia and included a plumber and a pharmacist in their side.
The Linas-Montlhery defence was not breached until the 30th minute when 17-year-old midfielder Adil Aouchiche opened the scoring for PSG.
Edinson Cavani then struck either side of half-time for the Ligue 1 champions before Pablo Sarabia notched two goals of his own. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting rounded off the scoring for Thomas Tuchel’s side three minutes from full-time.
