LONDON: Philippe Coutinho was Liverpool’s FA Cup saviour again on Wednesday, clinching a 1-0 victory over second-tier Blackburn Rovers in their quarter-final replay to set up a semi-final with Aston Villa while Bayern Munich stayed on course for a treble of titles.

Holders Bayern overcame the absence of several key players to reach the German Cup semi-finals after beating Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out as their last-eight clash finished goalless after extra time.

Paris St Germain, meanwhile, remain on course for an unprecedented quadruple after a hat-trick from Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped them reach the Coupe de France final with a 4-1 victory over St Etienne.

Ibrahimovic-inspired PSG, Lulic-led Lazio reach domestic cup finals

Lazio have a chance to land their first trophy since 2013 after substitute Senad Lulic scored a late goal to give them a 1-0 win at Napoli which sent them into the Coppa Italia final against Juventus 2-1 on aggregate.

After a goalless draw at Anfield last month, Coutinho broke the deadlock in the 70th minute at Ewood Park when the Brazil playmaker drilled an angled low shot through a crowded six-yard box and inside the far post after a swift interchange with Jordan Henderson.

Coutinho seems to enjoy playing cup replays, having also scored the winner against Bolton Wanderers in the fourth round.

“Philippe’s got a great football brain and the easy bit was just giving him it and he finished it fantastically well,” Liverpool’s captain on the night Henderson told BT Sport. “That little bit of brilliance from him wins us the game and gives everyone a big lift.”

Brendan Rodgers’ side came into the game after back-to-back Premier League defeats that all but ended their hopes of a top-four finish however victory kept seven-times Cup winners Liverpool on course to win Rodgers’ first trophy for the club after a disappointing league campaign.

“From start to finish, I thought we were brilliant tonight,” Henderson said. “Now we have a tough game against Villa at Wembley [on April 19].”

Bayern reached the German Cup semi-finals for a sixth year in a row with Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer their hero at Leverkusen’s BayArena after saving Swiss striker Josip Drmic’s first spot-kick penalty to give the Bavarians the advantage.

Thomas Mueller, Robert Lewandowski, Xabi Alonso, Mario Goetze and finally Thiago Alcantara, only back from a year’s absence with injury, all then drilled home their spot kicks to put Bayern, without Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger and David Alaba, through.

“No-one deserved to lose a game like that,” said Neuer. You could really see that no-one wanted to make a mistake.”

Victory kept Pep Guardiola’s team on course for a repeat of the 2013 treble with Bayern runaway leaders in the Bundesliga and through to the Champions League last eight. Bayern, seeking their 18th German Cup title, will host Borussia Dortmund — the team they beat in last year’s final, in the last four.

Earlier, third division Arminia Bielefeld stunned Borussia Moenchengladbach, also 5-4 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time to set up a semi-final against VfL Wolfsburg.

PSG’s epic quest for a four-trophy sweep continued apace after Laurent Blanc’s side advanced to a Coupe de France final against Ligue 2 club Auxerre.

The Parisians are top of the Ligue 1 table and take on Bastia in the League Cup final on Saturday before facing Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals four days later.

Ibrahimovic opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes from the penalty spot with his 100th goal for the club on 21 minutes and then rounded the ‘keeper in the 81st for the second before completing his hat-trick with a fine run and shot in injury-time.

But PSG had to fight for long periods as St Etienne drew level with a Romain Hamouma header, going in 1-1 at half-time before an Ezequiel Lavezzi header put them back ahead in the 59th.

“As long as we’re in the running on four fronts, we’re thinking about this quadruple, but nothing is won yet,” said Blanc. “I’m proud to coach these boys. I’ve a fantastic group, with an enormous capacity to work.”

At the Stadio San Paolo in Naples, Lazio had their work cut out against a Napoli side they had not beaten in seven straight head-to-head matches following a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

But Lulic, who scored the winner when Lazio beat AS Roma in the Coppa Italia final two seasons ago, fired home the winner in the 79th minute when he was left unmarked to steer home a cross from Felipe Anderson from inside the box to send them to a final against Juve.

“Juventus are definitely the strongest squad in Italy, but if we keep playing like this it will be a match,” Lulic said.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2015

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