Finalists only last season, Ligue 2 promotion hopefuls Reims quickly found themselves under sustained pressure, with Strasbourg controlling possession and dictating the tempo from the opening stages.
The hosts struggled to turn that dominance into clear chances and were repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Alexandre Olliero, who was in defiant form.
The Reims stopper reacted sharply to hold Sebastian Nanasi’s glancing close‑range header, and tipped Guéla Doué’s low drive onto the post to ensure his side reached the break all square.
Reims went into the second half aiming to extend a remarkable run of seven consecutive clean sheets across all competitions (W3, D4), though that run looked increasingly under threat.
Doué saw another attempt clip the woodwork, as the Ligue 1 side extended their dominance past the hour mark without being able to make the breakthrough.
For all their pressure, however, Strasbourg suffered a scare when a rare Reims break ended with Hiroki Sekine’s strike arrowing towards the bottom corner, only for Mike Penders to turn it away with a fingertip save.
Seemingly running out of ideas, Strasbourg were handed a late lifeline when two late penalties turned the tie completely in their favour.
Joaquín Panichelli thumped home from 12 yards after John Patrick had handled, and just three minutes later, substitute Julio Enciso doubled their lead to all but end Reims hopes.
Patrick Zabi clawed back a late consolation strike for Reims, but it would prove too little, too late for last season’s cup runners-up.
Having spared their blushes with a late double, Strasbourg are now unbeaten in 13 of their last 15 outings.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alexandre Olliero (Stade de Reims)