Coupe de la Ligue: Cissé’s Brace Rescues Bastia Against Auxerre
After their disappointing 1–3 loss to Monaco in Ligue 1, Bastia bounced back with a hard-fought 3–1 victory over Auxerre in the Coupe de la Ligue round of 16 on Tuesday.
Auxerre struck first through Mbombo Lokwa in the 13th minute, putting the Corsicans under early pressure. But Bastia found a spark in Djibril Cissé, who came off the bench at halftime and scored a decisive brace (64’, 71’) against his former club. Floyd Ayité had equalized just before Cissé’s double, setting the stage for the comeback.
“I’m happy for Djibril. He needed time after his injury. He’s a goalscorer, that’s what we’re missing,” said Bastia coach Claude Makelele, praising the experienced striker who had not scored since April 5.
Despite the qualification, Makelele expressed his dissatisfaction:
“I’m disappointed with some things that I didn’t like. The only satisfaction is the qualification, the rest didn’t interest me. We weren’t aggressive in the first half… the attitude of some players disappointed me.”
Looking ahead, the former France international stressed the importance of improvement:
“We’ll work again this week to prepare for the crucial match against Guingamp. We can’t afford to play in these conditions, otherwise we’ll head straight into a wall.”
With Cissé finding form and Bastia progressing in the cup, the team will hope to carry momentum into their upcoming league challenge.
