It’s a statistic that pleases as much as it raises questions… Three French clubs qualified for the quarter-finals, all European competitions combined. First there is PSG, awaiting its draw (this Friday) in the Champions League. But there is also Marseille, winner of Villarreal this Thursday evening in the round of 16 second leg of the Europa League (5-3 cumulative score) and Lille, which largely and logically dominated the Austrian club Sturm Graz in the evening (4-1 , cumulative score) in the Europa Conference League.
Three French clubs in the quarter-finals on the European scene, a first in… 20 years. During the 2003-2004 season, four French clubs managed to reach this stage of the competition in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup (formerly Europa League). Monaco lost in the C1 final against Porto (3-0) while the Portuguese eliminated Lyon in the quarter-final. In the UEFA Cup, OM also lost in the final against Valencia (2-0). The Spaniards notably eliminated the Girondins de Bordeaux in the quarter-final.