Kluivert shines as Nice thump Marseille in French Cup

Paris (AFP) – Justin Kluivert scored twice as Nice came from behind to beat south coast rivals Marseille 4-1 in a pulsating French Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.

Nice join Monaco and fourth division Versailles in the draw for the semis with Nantes taking on Bastia on Thursday.

Nice and Marseille was the pick of the quarter-finals with the sides placed second and third in the French top flight.

Kluivert was man-of-the-match rising to head home the go-ahead goal on 29 minutes before his sublime strike from distance four minutes into the second half put the hosts on their way to a deserved win.

“It’s really important for a striker to score goals and I’m very happy with those two. I came here to score goals and that shows a bit about what I can do,” said the 22-year-old son of former Dutch international striker Patrick Kluivert. 

Nice conceded an own-goal in the third minute before Amine Gouiri levelled on 10 minutes, while Andy Delort put the game beyond doubt just after the hour.

Fourth division Versailles also reached the semi-finals after squeezing past Bergerac 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.