'Black spot' dooms L'OM, as penalty roulette pushes Lille to the Cup round of 16

The curse is still on! After Luis Henrique equalized against Lille in the dying minutes and annulled Hakon Arnar Haraldsson's opener, securing Marseille the additional 30 minutes of play, the crowd at Stade Velodrome must have thought that the "football Gods" have finally forgiven L'OM. However, the penalty shoot-out showed that Marseille's 36-year-long wait for the French Cup trophy would continue.

Roberto De Zerbi's crew was on the verge of defeat much before the penalties following Haraldsson's 68th-minute deadlock-breaker, and if you asked Marseille fans, they would have probably chosen a 1-0 loss rather than a heartbreaking one on penalties.

Yet, when Luis Henrique netted a leveller in the 96th minute, Stade Velodrome went wild, and everyone thought this was Marseille's chance, as conceding that late in the game can often be very disheartening. But not last night and not for Lille!

After goalless extra time, penalties were to decide which side would reach the round of 16. In the shoot-out, the visitors were much calmer and more focused, which brought them a 4-3 triumph. Henrique went "from hero to zero" as he was one of two Marseille players to miss a pen, alongside Jonathan Rowe.

Ligue 1 giants target Chelsea's Badiashile and Arsenal's Kiwior

Apart from Olympique, another French giant, Monaco, were eliminated after a penalty roulette, as they lost to Reims. Interestingly, penalties were a tie-breaker in four out of six of yesterday's French Cup duels.