Keel. A week after the end of the Ligue 1 season, Olympique Lyonnais challenges PSG in the final of the Coupe de France, the last meeting of the season in France, this Saturday in Villeneuve d’Ascq. Kick-off at 9 p.m. The winner will succeed Toulouse, winner of Nantes (5-1) last year at the Stade de France. A meeting broadcast by beIN SPORTS and France 2. It will, of course, be followed live with commentary on our site.
A priori, with. The future ex-Parisian was left out in Nice (1-2) and Metz (0-2), for the last two days of the championship. Like some of his teammates, he was also entitled to three days of rest last weekend, making a detour to Cannes, before organizing a sumptuous farewell party in Paris on Monday evening. In short, between a player with potentially his head elsewhere and a club which did nothing to organize a farewell worthy of the name, not to mention an inflexible coach, the question of Mbappé’s presence in Lille arose in recent days . Question to which PSG answered Friday: “KM” is part of the group which went to the North.
As for whether the person concerned will play this Saturday, we will still have to wait. But we can’t imagine “Lucho” having summoned him for nothing… Which “Lucho” also killed the suspense by answering, in French, “of course” to the question of whether Mbappé will play. Note that the capital club will be deprived of Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe and Sergio Rico, injured or recovering. Keylor Navas was not invited, he who will leave at the end of his contract. For their part, OL presents itself in full force.
Also read “He left his mark on his time at PSG”: Mbappé, before the big leap, time to take stock
Despite obtaining the title of champion of France and their journey to the semi-finals of the Champions League, Luis Enrique’s men have not abandoned the Coupe de France. After two successes on the road against lower division clubs, the amateurs of Revel (9-0) and the residents of National 1 of Orléans (4-1), PSG had the pleasure of subsequently receiving, against in Brest (3-1), Nice (3-1) and Rennes (1-0). OL started with two successes away from Lyon at the expense of Pontarlier (3-0), N3 club, and Bergerac (2-1), N2 team, before dismissing two Ligue 1 teams at Groupama Stadium, Lille (2-1) and Strasbourg (4-3). In the semi-finals, Pierre Sage’s players had a lucky hand in the draw, and a favorable arbitration, they who had inherited the (low ranking) L2 club of Valenciennes (3-0).
Record holder of the event (14 titles), PSG has not lifted the Coupe de France for an eternity… on its scale: the last coronation dates back to 2012. A cup which allowed Mauricio Pochettino’s men not to finish empty-handed knowing that Christophe Galtier’s Losc had won the championship that year. PSG’s last Ligue 1 – Coupe de France – Champions Trophy treble dates back to the 2019-20 season. It was even a quadruple with the League Cup. Far from the golden age of Juninho and company, OL have not won anything since the Coupe de France and the Champions Trophy in 2012, respectively against Quevilly (1-0) and Montpellier.
Note that the Lyonnais do not need to win the Coupe de France to be sure of competing in the next Europa League. Long last in Ligue 1, they had a fantastic second half of the season and finished sixth in the Ligue 1 standings. Sixth qualifying place for the Europa Conference League. Except that it would become synonymous with a folding seat in the Europa League in the event of a PSG victory. In any case, it is Lens, seventh, who will compete in the Europa Conference League next season.
PSG and OL have only faced each other once in the Coupe de France final, in 2008, at the Stade de France, with Lyon winning (1-0 after) on a goal from Sidney Govou. Paris, however, defeated Lyon in the Coupe de la Ligue final twice (2014, 2020) and there were four duels at the Trophée des Champions, two victories for PSG (2016, 2017) and as many for Les Gones (2005, 2007). Note that the two clubs were close to facing each other in the final of the Champions League in 2020, during the Final 8 in Lisbon. Paris had dismissed Leipzig in the semi-finals (3-0), but Lyon had come up against Bayern (0-3) after creating a sensation by eliminating Manchester City (3-1) in the quarters.
The Stade de France being mobilized for the Olympic Games (July 26-August 11), the French Football Federation (FFF) was looking for a new base for this 107th Coupe de France final. It was still necessary to find a stadium with more than 50,000 seats and for the said final to take place on “neutral ground”. The biggest stadiums in France after Saint-Denis? The Vélodrome in Marseille (67,000 seats), the Groupama Stadium in Lyon (59,000), Pierre-Mauroy in Lille (50,000) and the Parc des Princes, in Paris (48,000). The FFF only finally made its decision on March 7, after the quarterfinals. Knowing that Lyon and PSG were still in the running, the Vélodrome was out of the running, due to the rivalry between OM and the two clubs. The Park and the Groupama, also excluded. That left Lille, despite the presence of VAFC in the semi-finals.
Bonus question, how many Coupe de France finals in the provinces? None. The first 106 took place in Paris, and not only at the Parc des Princes, or in Île-de-France, including in Saint-Denis since 1998.