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Emery eyes Coupe de la Ligue final repeat in Monaco semi

Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery

Unai Emery called on Paris Saint-Germain to repeat their Coupe de la Ligue final performance when they take on Monaco in the Coupe de France semi-finals later this month.

PSG defeated third-tier side Avranches 4-0 in their away quarter-final on Wednesday, Hatem Ben Arfa's double along with goals from Lucas Moura and Javier Pastore sealing an easy victory.

The holders' reward as they continue their bid to win a domestic clean sweep for the second straight season is a home tie with Monaco in the last four, with fellow Ligue 1 sides Angers and Guingamp playing in the other semi.

Monaco are sitting top of Ligue 1, but PSG tasted Coupe de la Ligue glory with a 4-1 win over Leonardo Jardim's men last weekend and Emery has that victory fresh in his mind.

"It will be a great semi-final," Emery told the club's website. "We want to repeat our match of Saturday. 

"We want our fans to enjoy it and win this trophy. We need to keep up our standards in this competition."

PSG were only 1-0 up at half-time against Avranches, but Emery was impressed by their improvement after the break.

"I'm happy with the players' work," he said. "Congratulations to Avranches, who deserved to play against us in this quarter-final.

"In the first half, they showed a lot of desire. We scored a goal, which made the difference. We didn't play as we wanted to. 

"In the second half, the team improved in terms of its control over the game and its play. The result followed. This match was a good opportunity for the team and the players."

The tie saw Giovani Lo Celso make his PSG debut as a second-half substitute.

"My feeling is joy at having played my first game for Paris Saint-Germain," said the 20-year-old.

"I would like to thank my team-mates for the confidence they have in me. The main thing is the team's win, though. We played very well."

 

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