Triumphant return for Barthez

Green light
Marseille took the lead in Saturday's third-round match courtesy of Johnny Ecker's 37th-minute goal, but an 83rd-minute Mamadou Niang strike forced the contest into extra time. After neither side could find a winner it was left to a penalty shoot-out to settle matters. Barthez saved two Strasbourg spot-kicks and then scored his side's decisive fourth to complete a fairytale return.

'A lot of pressure'
"I had been waiting to return to club football for so many weeks that I felt a lot of pressure," Barthez said. "I had the feeling I was going back to the beginning of my career and I didn't want to disappoint the staff, the players and the fans."

Loan move
Barthez rejoined Marseille on loan on Friday from Manchester United FC in a deal which lasts until the end of the season. An integral figure as France won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000™, Barthez previously lifted the 1992/93 UEFA Champions League with Marseille in the first of his three seasons at the club.

Ecker winner
In other Saturday afternoon games, Olympique Lyonnais were 4-0 winners at amateur side Aire-sur-la-Lys while Toulouse FC emerged 3-1 victors at fourth division Racing CF with forward Cédric Faure scoring a hat-trick.

Guingamp stunned
A Sammy Traoré goal was all OGC Nice needed to beat AS Moulins, whose fellow minnows FC Mulhouse were beaten 2-0 by Montpellier Hérault SC. EA Guingamp were Ligue 1's high-profile casualties after going down 5-3 on penalties in Bayonne despite Moumouni Dagano's hat-trick in a 4-4 draw.

Home comforts
In Saturday's other games, RC Lens squeezed past Le Mans UC 72 by virtue of Charles-Edouard Coridon's solitary goal and AJ Auxerre defeated FC Sochaux Montbéliard 2-0.

Top-flight casualties
Sunday's action was lit up by the elimination of two more Ligue 1 sides at the hands of lower-league opposition as SC Bastia and AC Ajaccio both bit the dust. Besançon RC upset Bastia 1-0 while Gueugnon FC were 2-0 winners at the François-Coty.

PSG escape
Paris Saint-Germain FC only avoided an upset thanks to two goals in the last three minutes against ES Troyes Aube Champagne at the Parc des Princes. The visitors were leading 2-0 until Gabril Heinze's 88th-minute goal was followed by 19-year-old Bartholemewe Ogbeche's leveller. Pauleta scored PSG's winner in extra-time.

Easy wins
Elswhere, Ligue 1 leaders AS Monaco FC defeated FC Metz 2-0 thanks to goals from Vassilis Zikos and Ludovic Giuly while FC Nantes Atlantique and Stade Rennais FC both progressed against lowly opposition - the latter only on penalties. The game between AS Nancy Lorraine and Lille OSC was postponed due to a snowy pitch.