Before diving into the new season, PSG.FR gives you the chance to look back at the highlights of the previous season, that saw the Rouge et Bleu win another quadruple. Today, the focus is on the Coupe de France, a trophy the capital club enjoyed winning.
After 4 months away from the pitches, long weeks in confinement and the premature halt to football, the Paris Saint-Germain players rediscovered the joys of competition by winning the 103rd Coupe de France. It underlined what a great season the club had on a domestic level.
It all started on January 5 2020. In their first game of the year, it was with the oldest of all the competitions that Paris kicked off again. They were up against Linas-Montlhéry, of the Régional 1 division, and the Parisians made short work of their first obstacle in the Round of 64, winning easily (6-0). Apart from goals for Edinson Cavani, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Adil Aouchiche, two new recruits shone: Sergio Rico saved a 38th-minute penalty that would have allowed Linas to equalise, and Pablo Sarabia, who scored his first double with the club, marking the start of a great run in the competition.
It was the Spanish international who was the only scorer in the Round of 32 against Lorient (0-1). And it was Sarabia again who sealed the Parisian victory at Pau in the Round of 16 of the competition (0-2), before supplying an assist and scoring two further goals against Dijon in the quarter-finals (1-6). Note that against the Burgundy club, Thiago Silva also found the back of the net, becoming the first defender in the QSI era to score in seven different seasons with Paris in all competitions.
In March, a month after thrashing Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1 (4-2), the Parisians headed to Groupama Stadium in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France. A Neymar Jr penalty and three Kylian Mbappé goals later, the capital club booked their ticket for the final (1-5).
True to himself, Pablo Sarabia again took part in the Parisians' attacking fun, scoring the 4th goal of the game. That took him to 7 goals in 5 matches with the man from Madrid becoming the first Paris player to manage to score in the first five rounds of the Coupe de France.
A four-month leap after the football world was frozen... And it was in the final that the Parisians got back to competitive football. The desire was there too, the desire to make up for the previous season when they were beaten on penalties by Stade Rennais. Thomas Tuchel's men really wanted to get their hands back on the trophy. And all of this with the rules shaken up with five substitutes allowed and with certain contracts specially extended for the summer.
"Hosts" for the first time in the competition, it was at Stade de France that Paris took on AS Saint-Etienne.
A Kylian Mbappé pass and a Neymar Jr finish ensured the team did the main thing in the first quarter-hour (1-0) before Loïc Perrin's red card sealed the outcome. In scoring for the 46th consecutive Coupe de France match, Paris Saint-Germain claimed their 13th trophy in the competition, an outright record.
The top attack (21 goals scored) and top defence (2 goals conceded) in the campaign, Paris didn't make a mistake and made amends for the previous season.
A trophy that marked the start of busy spell that took the men from the capital club to the Champions League final in Lisbon, following on from adding the Coupe de la Ligue to their trophy collection.