Moise Kean was the shoot-out hero for Paris Saint-Germain as they edged into the Coupe de France final by beating Montpellier on penalties after a Kylian Mbappe masterclass was not enough to finish the job in normal time.

Smarting after seeing their Champions League challenge ended by Manchester City and their Ligue 1 title defence severely dented by Rennes, two wonderful Mbappe goals, which sandwiched a similarly admirable Gaetan Laborde strike for Montpellier, appeared to have secured PSG's place in a sixth Coupe de France final in seven seasons.

But Andy Delort scored a late leveller to make it 2-2 in a dramatic finale to send an absorbing contest to penalties.

Five players from each team all delivered in a high-quality shoot-out, but the pressure proved too much for Junior Sambia, who blazed over the bar to give Kean the opportunity to seal a spot in the final against Monaco or fourth-tier Rumilly Vallieres as he fired into the top-left corner.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino was delighted with hat-trick hero Mauro Icardi's impact in Wednesday's 5-0 Coupe de France win after a month out with injury.

Icardi marked his first start for PSG in a month with a treble as they swept aside Angers to qualify for the Coupe de France semi-finals.

The Argentine, who spent last season on loan at PSG from Inter before signing permanently, has endured a difficult season impacted by injury.

"I'm glad Mauro scored three goals tonight," Pochettino said. "Anytime he's on the pitch, he has the opportunity to score.

"He's coming back from injury, I'm very happy with what he did."

Icardi has battled the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Moise Kean and Angel Di Maria for a regular spot when fit.

Pochettino would not be drawn on whether Wednesday's hat-trick would help the Argentine's cause in a bid to start in Saturday's Ligue 1 clash with Metz.

"We will see Saturday who will start," Pochettino said.

"It is always difficult for a player to suffer from muscle damage and to be held back by health problems. Even more so in a season of difficult circumstances like this."

Icardi's goals take his season tally to 11 in all competitions, having made 21 appearances.

"I felt confident," Icardi said. "I'd already scored against Saint-Etienne and I was very confident that I could come back after a tough injury hit year.

"I'm slowly getting back to form and scoring goals is always important for strikers."

Mauricio Pochettino was delighted with the spirit his Paris Saint-Germain team showed to defeat Lille in the Coupe de France after a difficult few days.

PSG were 3-0 winners against the Ligue 1 leaders as they were in action for the first time since a weekend defeat to Nantes that was disrupted by burglaries at the family homes of Angel Di Maria and Marquinhos.

Di Maria was substituted in that loss to attend to the matter, but both players were in the XI as goals from Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe secured a quarter-final berth on Wednesday.

It was not an entirely convincing PSG display, as Lille had 18 shots to their 11 and Keylor Navas was required to save a penalty for the third time this season.

Pochettino was only interested in praise for his players and their families, however.

"Of course I'm so happy with the performance and the spirit of the team," the coach told the club's official channel.

"They deserve massive credit and I want to congratulate them but most of all the families because the last few days were very tough for everyone.

"We all feel what happened to Marqui and Angel. It really touched the group and that's why I want to congratulate the team, the players and the families suffering around them.

"I'm so happy. I think we fully deserved to go through to the quarter-finals and, in this difficult circumstance, I'm happy for the 3-0."

Di Maria had two shots and created a single chance, while Marquinhos contributed four tackles, five clearances and a block.

Navas was the star of the show, though, denying Yusuf Yazici from 12 yards with 12 minutes remaining.

Only Rui Silva and Oliver Baumann (both four) have kept out more penalties than Navas in all competitions this season among goalkeepers across Europe's 'top five' leagues.

"He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world," Pochettino said of Navas, who finished with five saves in all. "His level is incredible."

Paris Saint-Germain began a season-defining three-game stretch by beating Ligue 1 leaders Lille 3-0 to continue their Coupe de France defence.

PSG have successfully negotiated a Champions League tie with Barcelona but have work to do either side of this month's international break to maintain their domestic challenge.

Mauricio Pochettino's men, second in the league, visit third-placed Lyon on Sunday and then host Lille at the start of April, but they first took care of the pace-setters in the cup on Wednesday to advance to the quarter-finals.

Mauro Icardi had the holders in front before hobbling off and Kylian Mbappe, on in his place, made sure of PSG's progress with a brace either side of Keylor Navas' latest penalty save.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Pablo Sarabia was also on target as Paris Saint-Germain saw off fellow Ligue 1 side Brest 3-0 to book their place in the last 16 of the Coupe de France.

The holders were given a tough time of things in their 1-0 win against Caen in the previous round but made light work of Saturday's clash at Stade Francis-Le Ble.

Sarabia fired in his sixth goal of the campaign shortly before half-time after Mbappe had opened the scoring inside nine minutes with an impressive solo strike that saw him carry the ball half the length of the field.

Mbappe doubled his personal tally for the day with an unorthodox chested finish to ensure comfortable passage through for PSG, who made it three wins in a row heading into Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg with Barcelona.

Mbappe also scored a brace in last week's comfortable Ligue 1 win at Dijon and picked up from where he left off with the opener against opponents positioned 13th in the French top flight.

The France international received the ball just inside the opposition half, carried it to the edge of the penalty area and picked out the top-left corner with a thunderous strike that left Sebastien Cibois rooted to the spot.

Mbappe was denied a second by the inside of the post when played in by Marco Verratti but PSG, who survived a penalty scare after Romain Philippoteaux went down under contact from Abdou Diallo and Mitchel Bakker, soon had a second goal.

Julian Draxler took the ball past a couple of opponents and teed up Sarabia to fire away from Cibois, adding to the goal he scored against Brest in PSG's 3-0 league win when the sides last met in January.

Cibois denied Mbappe from a one-on-one early in the second half and that sparked Brest into life, with Bandiougou Fadiga testing Sergio Rico with a couple of attempts in the space of a minute, the second requiring Ander Herrera to block the ball on the line.

But the hosts' hopes of a comeback were ended 17 minutes from time as Verratti's pass ricocheted off the chest of Mbappe and trickled in from a few yards out.

Neymar will miss Paris Saint-Germain's trip to former club Barcelona in the Champions League after being ruled out for up to four weeks.

The Ligue 1 club, who head to Camp Nou next Tuesday, confirmed the Brazilian had suffered an adductor injury in the Coupe de France win over Caen on Wednesday.

The estimated recovery time would also put Neymar in doubt for the return leg of the last-16 clash with Barca, which takes place on March 10.

Neymar suffered the injury around the hour mark of the 1-0 win, with the 29-year-old clutching at his groin.

Though team-mate and midweek match-winner Moise Kean told Eurosport afterwards that "all is well", head coach Mauricio Pochettino was less optimistic.

"His left adductor muscle is affected and they will examine him to see what type of injury he has," he said.

"The reality is that we do not know the extent of the injury, tomorrow we will know more."

Sure enough, a PSG statement released on Thursday confirmed a notable setback for Neymar.

suffered a lesion to the left adductor on Wednesday evening," it read.

"After analysis of clinical exams and scans, it is expected that he'll be out for around four weeks depending on the evolution of the injury."

Neymar has often suffered untimely injuries at a similar time in previous seasons during his stint at PSG.

In 2018, Neymar sustained a broken toe in February, meaning he missed almost three months of action, with PSG losing 5-2 on aggregate to eventual Champions League winners Real Madrid in the last 16 in his absence.

An ankle injury then kept him out from January to April in 2019, with PSG going out at the hands of Manchester United, though he was fit to help the Parisians overcome Borussia Dortmund in last season's tournament, prior to the coronavirus-enforced suspension.

PSG went on to lose in the final to Bayern Munich, though Neymar has lifted the trophy before, having scored in a 3-1 win over Juventus in the 2015 showpiece.

Neymar will miss Paris Saint-Germain's trip to former club Barcelona in the Champions League after being ruled out for up to four weeks.

The Ligue 1 club, who head to Camp Nou next Tuesday, confirmed the Brazilian had suffered an adductor injury in the Coupe de France win over Caen on Wednesday.

The estimated recovery time would also put Neymar in doubt for the return leg of the last-16 clash with Barca, which takes place on March 10.

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.

Paris Saint-Germain will visit either Guingamp or Caen when they begin their Coupe de France defence in the round of 64.

PSG won the competition last season as former head coach Thomas Tuchel masterminded a treble triumph, beating Saint-Etienne 1-0 in the final.

That successful campaign started away to sixth-tier Linas-Montlhery and Mauricio Pochettino's PSG will be on the road again after being drawn against Guingamp or Caen.

The Ligue 2 sides are set to face one another on January 20 for the right to host the French champions in February.

PSG have won the trophy a record 13 times, including five of the past six editions.

Saint-Etienne are also away - to Nancy or Sochaux - but Ligue 1 leaders Lyon will welcome Chateauroux or Ajaccio to the Groupama Stadium.

Marseille will visit Troyes or Auxerre, while Monaco are heading for Clermont or Grenoble.

Lille face Ligue 1 opposition in the form of struggling Dijon, and fourth visit seventh as Rennes go to Angers.