Mbappe signs off from PSG with Coupe de France crown

Paris Saint-Germain saw off Lyon 2-1 to secure yet another Coupe de France trophy, and a French domestic double thanks to goals from Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz despite Kylian Mbappe drawing a blank on his final game for the club.

A month after beating Lyon 4-1 in Ligue 1, Luis Enrique’s side looked set to once again run riot when they went 2-0 up – thanks to goals from Dembele and Ruiz – 34 minutes into a dominant first half, but the heroics of Lucas Perri in the Lyon goal kept his side in touch.

If anything, the scoreline flattered Lyon who created very little particularly in the first half, but were handed a lifeline when Ireland’s Jake O’Brien finished with a commanding header to make it 2-1.

But PSG resumed control and saw out the final third of the game to give Mbappe a winning send-off.

It is a record-extending 15th Coupe de France for PSG, while their fifth league-cup double sees them move ahead of Saint Etienne into a league of their own in l’Hexagone. However, their failure to reach the UEFA Champions League final means it is yet another par season and they will need to rebuild over the summer without their talisman.

However, Mbappe will have one more attempt to endear himself to French audiences before heading to play his club football overseas, at the Euros in Germany.

He was arguably the least impressive of the four Parisians from Didier Deschamps’ squad who started the final though, with Dembele, Warren Zaire-Emery and the impossibly uncapped Bradley Barcola outshining the main attraction.

After Manchester United won the FA Cup earlier despite finishing 31 points behind their opponents in the league, Lyon could not erase the odds of their own 23-point deficit to the domestic champions but got closer than many expected.

Pierre Sage’s side had already qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League with Alexandre Lacazette’s 96th-minute winner on the final day of Ligue 1 and after a game so high on tension and emotional release, it was perhaps expected that they would struggle to take the game to PSG.

Lacazette had possibly the best shot at an equaliser but was denied by Achraf Hakimi at full stretch with 15 minutes to go, and Lyon failed to apply much pressure from then until the final whistle. That also means they lost their second final in the space of a few hours after Barcelona triumphed in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Talking point: Mbappe denied fairytale farewell

308 games, 256 goals, six Ligue 1 titles and as many golden boots after arriving in Paris, Mbappe has fulfilled the promise he brought with him from Monaco.

He was able to add a 15th domestic winner’s medal to his PSG collection, but the goalscoring send-off Mbappe dreamt of failed to materialise despite his best efforts as Lyon were simply overwhelmed in Lille, relegated to a sideshow at least on the pitch and at times seeming almost a hindrance to PSG as they tried to force one more goal from their all-time top scorer.

Mbappe tried his luck a handful of times including an acrobatic bicycle kick that would have formed a striking final image of his time at PSG, had it hit the net and been attempted from an onside position.

But there are worse ways to leave a club than as a cup winner. Indeed, the departing Keylor Navas was not even named on the PSG bench while his opposite number at Lyon, Anthony Lopes, was also left disappointed when the teams were announced.

The departing Portuguese goalkeeper started the season as the main man in the Coupe de France but was usurped by Perri and has been left stranded on 489 Lyon appearances – fifth in the all-time standings but just one behind Yves Chauveau in fourth and five away from Fleury Di Nallo and the podium.

Player of the match: Ousmane Dembele

On the evening ostensibly about Mbappe, it was the wings that Lyon really needed to worry about. Barcola once again tortured one side of Lyon’s defence but it was Dembele on the right who truly made the difference, scoring one and assisted the other.

His goal was a simple affair but the way he chased a seemingly lost cause before pinging it back across the box for Fabian Ruiz to finish was arguably more impressive, and secured the silverware for PSG.

Maybe the post-Mbappe future isn’t looking so bad after all.

Player ratings

LYON: Perri 7, Mata 6, O’Brien 8, Caleta-Car 5, Tagliafico 6, Caqueret 7, Matic 6, Tolisso 6, Cherki 7, Lacazette 6, Benrahma 5. Subs: Maitland-Niles 6, Fofana 7, Mangala 6, Nuamah 6, Balde 7.

PSG: Donnarumma 6, Hakimi 7, Marquinhos 7, Beraldo 6, Mendes 7, Zaire-Emery 7, Vitinha 6, Fabian Ruiz 7, Dembele 8, Mbappe 6, Barcola 7. Subs: Lee 6, Asensio 6.

Match highlights

22’ – GOAL! LYON 0-1 PSG (DEMBELE): Perri’s been unbeatable in goal until now but he severely misjudged that one! The Brazilian left the goalmouth to claim it but the ball was hit too deep and fell to Dembele all by himself at the far post for the simplest of headed finishes.

34’ – GOAL!! LYON 0-2 PSG (FABIAN RUIZ): Mbappe thinks he was fouled in the box but it doesn’t matter! Dembele kept an overhit cross alive and sent it back to the right of Perri’s goal, Ruiz took two attempts but finds the net after a Jake O’Brien block and Lyon MUST score next…

55’ – GOAL!!! LYON 1-2 PSG (O’BRIEN): We said he was the standout, but he’s made a difference at the sharp end of the pitch now too!!! O’Brien rose highest to reach a corner kick and produced a perfectly-placed header into the top corner past a despairing Donnarumma. The Lyon end is bathed in flares and they’re the ones making all the noise, GAME ON!

63’ – SO CLOSE! It was nearly deja vu! Another Lyon cross that just passed over O’Brien’s head, but Nicolas Tagliafico had pelted forward and met it in full flight. It was just too central though compared to the Irishman’s effort and Donnarumma just about reacted in time to keep it at 2-1.

76’ – DEFLECTED SHOT! That could’ve been the equaliser!! A floated cross fell to Lacazette’s feet and his shot deflected through Vitinha’s legs but fell safely behind for a corner. There was nothing safe about O’Brien (again) meeting the set-piece though, his lower header flashed just the wrong side of the post.

Key stats

Kylian Mbappe scored in every round en route to the Coupe de France final, but couldn’t complete the set in Lille.

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