Kylian Mbappe’s final appearance PSG win the French Cup final.
2024.05.27
Coach of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Luis Enrique, expressed his gratitude for having worked with Kylian Mbappe after the star striker played his farewell match for the team on Saturday, defeating Lyon 2-1 in the French Cup final.
Mbappe made his final appearance for PSG before his anticipated transfer to Real Madrid, but the night’s goals from Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembele prevented him from adding to his club record 256 goals.
After Dembele and Ruiz scored goals in the first half, Jake O’Brien’s strike cut the gap, but PSG repelled a late attempt by Lyon to rally.
PSG, the most successful team in French Cup history, has now taken home the trophy 15 times, with seven of those victories coming in the past ten years and four occurring since Mbappe joined from Monaco as a youngster in 2017.
Although PSG’s elimination from the Champions League in the semi-finals against Borussia Dortmund casts a shade over the campaign, the win allowed PSG to accomplish a domestic league and cup double in Luis Enrique’s first season as coach.
The final was expertly played by us. We were excellent with the ball and played with a lot of passion, according to Luis Enrique.
“I believe this season has been excellent for us. He alluded to the Champions League final that will take place next weekend, saying, “We would have liked to stay around for another week and not go on holiday yet, but that is life.”
Mbappe was playing for his local team, for whom he signed a 180 million euro contract in August 2017, for his 308th and last game.
With this victory, he now departs PSG with six Ligue 1 championships, two League Cup triumphs, and four French Cup winners’ medals.
Mbappe scored eight goals during PSG’s journey to the Cup final, giving him 44 goals overall at the end of his last season in Paris.
At Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy, which was hosting the match because the regular site, the Stade de France, was getting ready to host the Olympics, he was just centimeters away from giving PSG an early lead.
Lucas Beraldo headed in a corner in the second minute, and Mbappe, diving in at the far post, just missed connecting with the ball.
After withstanding an early assault, Lyon trailed halfway through the first half when Dembele headed in a cross at the back post while entirely unmarked.
In the 34th minute, Dembele provided the assist as PSG scored again when Spain’s Ruiz converted his pass to the back post for the second try.
Lyon seemed hopeless before mounting an incredible comeback in Ligue 1 that saw them climb from the bottom of the standings in December to finish sixth and earn a trip to Europe.
They did make an effort to rally, and after ten minutes, Irish defender O’Brien headed in a corner
They did make an effort to rally, and ten minutes after the half, Irish defender O’Brien headed in a corner to give them hope.
