Punished in the first half, Paris Saint-Germain managed to bounce back and secure a 4-2 victory at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve d'Ascq. Les Rouge et Bleu will now head to another Coupe de France final.
After their dazzling victory against Saint-Étienne, Paris Saint-Germain returned to the Coupe de France action this Tuesday for the 23rd semi-final in the Club's history. After wins against Lens, Espaly, Le Mans and Saint-Brieuc in the previous rounds, Paris traveled to Villeneuve d'Ascq to face USL Dunkerque, who currently sit fifth in Ligue 2. Against the Dunkerquois, Luis Enrique started Matvey Safonov in goal. In front of him, an all-Brazilian central defensive pairing featured Lucas Beraldo and Marquinhos, with Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi occupying the flanks. Vitinha, João Neves and Warren Zaïre-Emery formed the midfield for the night, while Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé led the attacking trio.
Paris Saint-Germain came out on the front foot from the get go, creating dangerous chances in the opponent’s box within the opening minutes. Despite this early pressure, it was Dunkerque who struck first, as Vincent Sasso capitalised on a well-delivered free-kick to score from close range (1-0, 7’).
Les Rouge et Bleu maintained their high-intensity game plan, dominating possession (82%). However, from a counter-attack, Al-Saad doubled the lead for the side from the north of France (2-0, 27’). It was a difficult first half for Paris, who struggled to convert their chances. Just before the break, Achraf Hakimi provided a pass Ousmane Dembélé, who unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner (2-1, 45’), giving Les Parisiens a lifeline heading into half-time despite trailing by a goal.
Paris Saint-Germain started the second half with bags of desire and quickly found the equaliser, as Marquinhos rose to head the ball past Ewen Jaouen (2-2, 48’). With the score level, the visitors regained confidence and began executing their game plan more effectively. After several attempts, Désiré Doué made the difference with a strike from outside the box, which was deflected by a Dunkerque defender into the back of the net (2-3, 62’). A controversial back-pass from Hakimi to Safonov was deemed illegal, granting USLD an indirect free-kick inside the Parisian box, but the low-driven effort failed to trouble the goalkeeper (67’).
Luis Enrique’s men continued their high press and continued to dominate possession in the second half (75%). In stoppage time, Pacho won back possession, launching Ousmane Dembélé on a solo counter-attack from midfield. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, he calmly slotted home Paris Saint-Germain's fourth goal of the evening, securing his brace and sealing the victory (2-4, 90’+4).
Paris Saint-Germain secured their spot in the 21st Coupe de France final in the Club's history, where they will face the winner of the AS Cannes – Stade de Reims (to be played on Wednesday at 21:00). Up next, PSG will turn their focus to Ligue 1, with a clash against Angers on Saturday at 17:00 on Matchday 28!