After dominating from start to finish, Paris Saint-Germain won the 108th edition of the Coupe de France at the Stade de France on Saturday evening, beating Reims 3-0. Here's our look back at the match that gave the Parisians their third trophy of the season!
A week after celebrating their 13th French league title at the Parc des Princes with a 3-1 win over Auxerre, Paris Saint-Germain set out on Saturday evening to win their third trophy of the season - in the Coupe de France final against Reims. This was a major objective for Luis Enrique and his men, who were relying on a central defensive pairing of captain Marquinhos and Willian Pacho in front of goalkeeper Matvey Safonov. Achraf Hakimi started at right-back, with Nuno Mendes on the opposite flank. In midfield, Vitinha played in support of Fabian Ruiz and João Neves, while Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué occupied the wings, backed up by Ousmane Dembélé, who started in the centre of attack.
In the stands of a sold-out Stade de France, the Parisian fans quickly won the battle of the decibel meter. And the capital club were determined to get the upper hand on the pitch as quickly as possible, putting the Reims players under intense pressure from the start. Found on the right following some good work by Achraf Hakimi, Ousmane Dembélé opened the hostilities with a cross-shot that defender Joseph Okumu cleared off his line (8'). But the Kenyan international was powerless to intervene when Bradley Barcola, who managed to get in behind him less than ten minutes later, broke into the box and opened the scoring with a coolly taken shot across goal (1-0, 16').
Rewarded for their successful first quarter of an hour, Les Rouge et Bleu continued to press down the right wing. Désiré Doué took advantage of Marquinhos‘ vision to burst into space and set up Bradley Barcola, who was waiting at the far post, to score his second for the evening (2-0, 19’). The connection between the two French internationals was working perfectly, as was that between Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembélé: the two men combined again on the right of the opposition box, but Yehvann Diouf got in the way of the Parisian No.10‘s shot, keeping his team in the game (32’). Pinned back in their own half, Reims looked outclassed in every area of the game.
The Parisians, who had no intention of doing their opponents any favours, increased the pressure on the Reims goal as the break approached. Ousmane Dembélé found himself in the right-hand side of the box once again, but his angled shot fizzed across the face of goal (40’). It was then up to Bradley Barcola, once again, who sent in a pinpoint cross from the left wing to Achraf Hakimi, unmarked at the far post (3-0, 43'). It was the perfect end to a superb first half for the capital club, who started the second half with the same intentions despite their comfortable lead.
Just before the hour-mark, Bradley Barcola continued his show in the Reims box, beating Valentin Atangana before drawing a strong save from Yehvann Diouf, who denied the Parisian winger a hat-trick (59'). Moments later, it was Ousmane Dembélé's turn to try his luck from the edge of the box, following yet another pass from Achraf Hakimi. But the Parisian centre-forward went unrewarded as the opposing goalkeeper deflected his attempt onto the post (64'). With no worries at the back, Les Rouge et Bleu were cruising towards another victory and Lucas Beraldo and Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Senny Mayulu and Gonçalo Ramos came on to add to the capital club's display of strength.
As the minutes ticked by, the Parisian fans' chants grew louder and louder in the stands of the Stade de France, until the final whistle sealed victory for Luis Enrique's players. For the 16th time in its history, Paris Saint-Germain won the legendary Coupe de France, completing a domestic treble for the second season in a row! Another objective achieved in style by our Parisians, who will now turn their attention to the final event of what could be an historic month of May, with the UEFA Champions League final in Munich against Inter Milan next Saturday. Allez Paris!