PSG beat Lyon 2-1 to win French Cup final in Mbappe’s farewell appearance

VILLENEUVE D’ASCQ (Agencies): Paris St Germain beat Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 in the French Cup final on Saturday courtesy of first-half strikes from Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz to end the season with a domestic treble in Kylian Mbappe’s farewell match. The Ligue 1 and French Super Cup champions dominated the first half at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy to secure their record-extending 15th Cup title and first since 2021. “It’s my first cup and there’s a great atmosphere in the squad,” PSG midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery told beIN Sports. “We’re certainly keen to win all the trophies, we’ve had a great season. The group is magnificent and we hope that next season will be just as good.” Dembele put PSG ahead after 23 minutes when Nuno Mendes’ cross found him unmarked in the six-yard box to coolly head home, and Ruiz doubled the advantage with a strike from a tight angle at the second attempt. Lyon pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half thanks to Jake O’Brien’s towering header off a corner before PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a superb save minutes later. PSG’s all-time top scorer Mbappe failed to find the net in his final game for the club, leaving his record at 256 goals in 308 appearances over his seven-year spell. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the last few years. Saying that it’s all over, it makes my heart ache a little. What I’ve had here, I’ll never find anywhere else,” the 25-year-old Mbappe said. “It’s been a wonderful evening, and a wonderful season. I hope that children will continue to watch PSG. We’ve tried to get people excited, to give young people the chance to play for PSG. I hope that more youngsters will want to make their mark here.”