Moise Kean scored the only goal as Paris Saint-Germain beat Caen 1-0 in their Coupe de France round-of-64 clash at Stade Michel d'Ornano on Wednesday.
The holders – who have won the competition a record 13 times – were poor in the first half and went in at the break having had just one shot on target.
Mauricio Pochettino's side came out for the second period with renewed purpose, though, and broke the deadlock soon after thanks to on-loan Everton striker Kean's 12th goal of the season in all competitions.
Caleb Sery squandered a golden opportunity to equalise late on, but PSG ultimately held firm to extend their unbeaten run against Caen to 18 matches with the minimum of fuss.
The hosts twice went close inside the opening five minutes, Sergio Rico pawing over Aliou Traore's fierce strike from distance and Hugo Vandermersch missing the target with a free header inside the six-yard box.
Julian Draxler headed wide from Neymar's lofted ball over the top in the 42nd minute, but PSG – sorely lacking the pace of Kylian Mbappe in the first half – were unable to find an opener before the interval.
Pochettino's men were a lot sharper after the restart and went ahead after 49 minutes, Kean diverting Neymar's left-wing cross past Sullivan Pean.
Pean superbly denied Kean a second three minutes later, getting a strong hand to the Italian's powerful drive after he had been played in by Leandro Paredes.
PSG handed a debut to highly rated former Barcelona youngster Xavi Simon with 12 minutes remaining, while the Ligue 1 champions were lucky not to concede in the closing stages as Sery inexplicably fired wide from 10 yards.
Giroud leaving Milan to join MLS at end of season
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Giroud leaving Milan at end of season to join MLS
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Beckham: Man Utd's problems have lasted 'too long'
David Beckham believes Manchester United’s issues have lasted "too long" since Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
The Red Devils have won just four major trophies since Ferguson’s departure, with their most recent – an EFL Cup win last season – ending a six-year wait for silverware.
United have not won a Premier League title since the Scot’s final season in charge, with six managers failing to reclaim the top-flight crown since then.
This season, Erik ten Hag’s side are at risk of recording their lowest league finish and points tally, as they sit eighth on 54 points with two games remaining.
Beckham, who won 13 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, told The Athletic: "I think it has been a difficult time over the last five or ten years, but it was always going to be when the boss left the club.
"It wasn’t just that, we lost players like Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Gary Neville, all of these players that had been at United for so long; you lose part of that, and you lose part of the club.
"So it was always going to be a difficult time. But we’d like it to change pretty quickly because I think it’s gone on for too long now."
United have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), with nine of those coming at Old Trafford – their joint-most at home in a season and the first time it has happened in the Premier League.
Their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday marked the first time they had conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions since October 2021, while the 82 goals they have let in this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82).
Beckham was speaking at the premiere of 99, the Amazon Prime documentary covering United’s iconic treble-winning season 25 years ago.
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