Neymar – Francois Mori / AP / SIPA
For its last, the Coupe de la Ligue did not see big, but it saw far. Very far. Until the penalty shoot-out. And in the end, it is Paris Saint-Germain who wins (0-0, 6-5 in the tabs).
The Mustache Cup therefore ends as it began. Olympique Lyonnais now need the ultimate Champions League miracle to play Europe next year.
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Hot, hot, hot
Thirty-five degrees at kick-off, barely less than 30 at the final whistle, two more-than-necessary cool breaks. Like the entire Paris basin, the Plaine Saint-Denis was transformed into an oven on Friday evening. The players, who did not necessarily need this to draw, necessarily suffered, with the lot of technical inaccuracies that implies. From the start of the second half, the Lyon midfielder showed signs of fatigue on the Parisian blocks, splitting the team block in two. And after the hour of play, Paris got into it too. The result: the two teams played a nice ping-pong match at regular intervals. We had come to see football, but why not.
Mbappé missed, OL (almost) took advantage
Thomas Tuchel is struggling to play his team without Kylian Mbappé. Uninspired, his team swung a lot ahead, hoping that Icardi or Di Maria discovered unsuspected talents of hares. Obviously in vain. Without the threat of the “Bondy TGV”, OL were able to apply their plan by playing fairly regularly high by spinning the ball until Depay, or Cornet played Kurzawa, not to his advantage tonight. ‘like his counterpart Mitchel Bakker, whom one wonders even if he has the level to play in National 2. It is often passed on the Parisian right lane, therefore, but less in the axis, where Memphis and Dembele, despite a few flashes of brilliance often collided with the Presko-Thiago hinge.
Marco Verratti above the fray
The Italian will have been one of the rare satisfactions of PSG, with Neymar. Thomas Tuchel, who had promised a Verratti “fit” yesterday at a press conference after having spared him against Saint-Etienne in the final of the Coupe de France had not therefore lied, the Italian appeared solid on the lawn of the Stade de France, Friday, as evidenced by his playing time tonight. Well-felt tackles, an interesting volume of play – in the 98th he even made a deep left side call – despite the weather conditions and above all, above all, this fascinating ability to get out of dangerous and / or desperate situations unscathed. The John McClane of Paris Saint-Germain.
Anthony Lopes above the clouds
If the Stade de France was able to fall asleep in front of a soporific extension, it is thanks to the OL goalkeeper. The Portuguese thwarted Neymar’s plans. Whether on free kick or head (89th), the Brazilian hit a wall. In his own style, Lopes has often pitched in the toes and flown above the clouds to keep his goals untouched. And, of course, he got tangled up with a PSG player. A full match, therefore, for Toto Lopes.
Rafael and Traoré below everything
There could have been no penalty shootout. At the very last minute of extra time, Rafael mows down Di Maria at the edge of the box, concedes an ultra-dangerous free kick and takes a red card. Unfortunately for Bertrand Traoré, Neymar did not put his free kick to shorten the meeting. On the other hand, he coldly transformed his penalty just before the Lyon striker failed in front of Navas. Like what, the plague status of the match is sometimes played for nothing.