Kylian Mbappe’s Decisive Strike Sends PSG to French Cup Final 2023-24

In the French Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Rennes 1-0 behind a goal from Kylian Mbappe, who had a penalty saved. This resulted in a final matchup with Lyon. At the Parc des Princes, Mbappe watched Rennes goalkeeper Steve Mandanda stop his 37th-minute penalty kick; nevertheless, three minutes later, the captain of France hit the back of the net with a shot that deflected.

It was Mbappe’s 39th goal overall for PSG this season, and he looks set to breach the 40-goal barrier for the third time in his last four seasons.

In the first semi-final on Tuesday, PSG will take on Lyon, the 3-0 winners over Valenciennes, a lower division team, in the final in Lille on May 25. The capital team is hoping to add to their record 14 French Cup titles.

Before losing the last two seasons to Toulouse and Nantes, who took home the trophy in 2022 and 2022, respectively, they had won the championship six times in seven seasons.

“I’m overjoyed. One of our main goals for the season is to win the French Cup, and it would make us all happy to make it to the final,” PSG coach Luis Enrique stated.

Mbappe, 25, has informed PSG that he intends to leave after this season when his contract expires, thus the final at the end of next month may be his final match as a player.

Although the Champions League final will take place in London on June 1, the Ligue 1 season ends on May 18. PSG, who are still alive in Europe, will play Barcelona in the first leg of their quarterfinal next week.

With seven games remaining, Luis Enrique’s PSG team leads Ligue 1 by 12 points. Having won the French Champions Trophy at the beginning of the season, the team is still in the running for a season-long sweep of titles.

“We all want to win trophies for the club and we are on the right track,” remarked the head coach.

“In football at the highest level, the difference between winning and losing is very small, but we are in a good position in the league and the Cup, we have won the Super Cup, and in the Champions League we are where we want to be.”

They had a difficult opponent in Rennes, who played strong competition for the most of Wednesday’s match and drew 1-1 in the league a month ago in Paris.

But inside 12 minutes, the home team came dangerously close to taking the lead when Mbappe was sent free by Ousmane Dembele to speed towards goal, only for Mandanda to get a heavy touch on his shot, which struck the underside of the bar and rebounded away.

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After being fouled by Warmed Omari just inside the area, Mbappe was awarded the penalties, but Mandanda’s stop made it the third time this season that PSG’s best player has been stopped from the spot.

Unfortunately for Mandanda, Omari was caught off guard by Mbappe’s shot in the 40th minute, leaving the former France international goalie helpless.

Even when their attacking hero Martin Terrier was brought off the bench, Rennes was unable to get the equalizer and force a penalty shootout, while Paris was unable to secure the victory in the second half. Now, Rennes, who are presently ranked ninth in Ligue 1, must concentrate on their quest to earn a trip to Europe.

With two goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Lyon defeated Valenciennes, and they will be going for their sixth Cup victory in the team’s history. When they won the French Cup in 2012, that was their final silverware.