The bottom of Ligue 1 has had a good start in 2024. Clermont beat Metz on Friday in the 32nd French Cup final between elite clubs (1-1, 1-3). If Sadibou Sané opened the scoring well for the Lorenas (22nd), the Auvergne reacted after the restart and tied thanks to Jim Allevinah (49th). Their unusual goalkeeper Masamba Ndiaye made the difference during the fateful session by repelling three shots on goal.

Under the watch of Georges Mikautadze, back on loan in Metz but not yet qualified for this restart match, it was the Clermontois who made the best start by taking possession of the ball. The visitors, however, failed to take a good lead. They were also exposed to very abrupt Messins' rapid transitions. Malick Mbaye, Cheikh Sabaly, Kévin N'Doram (11th) and Benjamin Tetteh (14th) took the Auvergne defense from behind without being able to find a goal.

Taken on the axis 20 meters to the left by Arthur Atta, Sané had no problems aiming. He opened his right foot and sent the ball to Ndiaye's right corner (1-0, 22). The 19-year-old Senegalese, who only played 45 minutes in the first part of the L1 season, gave an idea of ​​his talent. The Lorenas, however, made the mistake of not pressing to escape as quickly as possible.

Despite the departure due to injury of Muhammed Cham (33rd) and a real lack of aggressiveness, Clermont was able to recover the ball calmly. Harmless for a long time, Pascal Gastien's players gradually gained momentum at the end of the first half. Allevinha was caught in the last minute in the opponent's area (42nd), then Shamar Nicholson made a nice cross shot that went wide (45th).

The trend was confirmed after the recovery. The Messins returned the ball badly in front of their area and Maxime Gonalons took the opportunity to serve to Allevinah, whose penalty left Alexandre Oukidja with no chance (1-1, 48). Returned to the right direction by their Gabonese, the Clermontois kept the ball in the court of an opponent who was slow to react.

Indecisive until the end despite a last quarter of an hour, the opposition of styles did not find a winner in regulation time. Allevinah put CF63 on track by scoring the first shot on goal, Ndiaye took over, repelling those from Joël Asoro and Maxime Colin. As always, the 2m02 goalkeeper once again stood up to Koffi Kouao and offered his team the classification. Unlike last year, Clermont will be present in the round of 16. This will not be the case for Metz, which confirms its difficulties after four consecutive defeats in the championship.