With star striker Neymar out injured, Angel Di Maria staked his claim to start against Real Madrid next week by scoring two goals as Paris Saint-Germain beat a sloppy Marseille side 3-0 Wednesday to reach the French Cup semifinals.
Di Maria put French Cup holder PSG ahead on the stroke of halftime, whipping in a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area after Marseille failed to clear the ball properly and it was played back into his path.
Marseille’s poor defending led to the Argentina winger’s second goal, three minutes after the break. Center half Aymen Abdennour failed to clear an easy ball – swiping wildly as it went under his foot – and Di Maria fired in his 12th goal since January.
