PSG became champion of the Coupe de France after defeating Saint-Étienne by a minimum. The Ligue 1 champion won his thirteenth wound in a thick final that left Mbappé's injury in Perrin's boots, which was sent off, as a prominent image. Neymar's lone goal was enough to tip the scales to Paris.
This Friday's game was presented as a rematch for Saint-Étienne. The whole of the Rhone, the only one that exceeds in leagues the PSG (10 against 9), I had not played a Cup final for 38 years. In fact, the last one had been against the Parisians and in what was the last game of Michel Platini in his native country. This Friday's was not just any final and therefore Claude Puel wanted to repeat the feat he achieved against Real Madrid with Lyon ten years ago in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Tuchel surprised before the game. The German, used to varying his ounces quite a bit on important dates, surprisingly left Verratti on the bench to line up Paredes with Gueye in midfield. The former of the Rome It was not the only novelty in the lineup, since the young man Bakker, a youthful left back signed from Ajax a year ago, started from the start the losses of Diallo and Bernat. In attack, Neymar, Di María, Mbappé and Icardi reunited against a more defensive team than usual, since Puel pulled out five defenses to try to protect himself as much as possible.
The match started unexpectedly. The Saint-Étienne eleven anticipated a withdrawn and very defensive team, but the opposite happened. The team of Rhone He went out on the pitch with excessive intensity, pressing on the rival field and forcing PSG to go long. In fact, Bouanga had a very clear opportunity in his boots after getting rid of Thiago Silva and shoot with the left to the post.
He PSGAs usual, you don't need to play big games to make a difference. The Parisian team has to its credit several of the best players in the world and this was evident in the 14th minute. Mbappé entered like a sharp knife in the Saint-Étienne area and, although the ex of Monaco did not score when Moulin repelled his shot, in the rejection was Neymar to score at pleasure. It was a jug of cold water for him Saint-Étienne, who was being far superior.
True to his philosophy, Saint-Étienne did not surrender and forced Keylor Navas to intervene twice, although in the 33rd minute the madness broke out. The day he retired, Loïc Perrin lost his nerve and made a terrifying entry on Mbappé. The captain of Les Verts he nailed his knee to the ankle of the French international, who had to withdraw and Sarabia entered instead. It was the end point to a brilliant career, but one that will be remembered for an expulsion that does not correspond to his greatness as captain. However, the expulsion did not demoralize Saint-Étienne and Les Verts came to rest losing only by one goal.
The second half started at a pace similar to that of the first half. PSG wanted to sleep the match with very long possessions and Saint-Étienne, who got Khazri in to try to be more offensive, expected some mistake from his rival to go out on the counterattack. Moulin, criticized in the first goal, kept those of Puel in the match with several stops of merit.