PSG vs. Toulouse: Winners and Losers from French League Cup

Paris Saint-Germain sealed their place in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue with a 2-0 win over Toulouse at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.

Second-half goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria helped Laurent Blanc’s side to victory, setting up the April 23 trip to the Stade de France, where they will meet Lille OSC in the final.

This was the third time PSG had met Le Tefece this month and the Parisians completed the clean sweep, although they were made to work for the victory. Dominique Arribage’s well-organised defence once again tried to frustrate and contain wave after wave of PSG attacks, and for 65 minutes the plan worked.

One fantastic pass from Adrien Rabiot, shown here, unpicked the back-line, Ezequiel Lavezzi got fortunate, finishing at the second attempt before Angel Di Maria scored a stunning second to seal the win.

Here are the winners and losers from PSG’s Coupe de la Ligue victory.

Winner: Angel Di Maria

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Di Maria with his 12th goal of the season.

Sometimes you just run out of words to describe a player’s brilliance. Angel Di Maria’s performances for PSG this season are edging close to being indescribable.

His second-half goal against Toulouse on Wednesday was his 12th of the season, adding to the 12 assists he has already contributed this campaign. As commentator Jonathan Johnson points out, he's been on fire.

He is a player in sensational form, putting the disappointments of his time at Manchester United behind him. Di Maria has taken PSG to another level, and Wednesday’s strike was another example of that.

No matter where he is on the pitch, he needs to be watched carefully, but the way he is playing, there is not a lot you can do to stop him.

Winner: Adrien Rabiot

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Rabiot was everywhere on Wednesday.

Continuing to play whenever one of Blanc’s traditional midfield trio are missing or rested, Rabiot once again put in an eye-catching performance for PSG.

Playing in the Marco Verratti role, the 20-year-old covered every inch of the pitch, with only Benjamin Stambouli touching the ball more than the young Frenchman.

To top it off, it was Rabiot’s wonderful left-foot pass, which the Associated Press' Jerome Pugmire commented on, cut open the Toulouse defence, setting up the opening goal for Lavezzi.

Rabiot is a player with a big future, and now he is showing just how important he is to this PSG side.

Loser: Edinson Cavani

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Cavani was disappointing against Toulouse.

Edinson Cavani has yet to start a league game for PSG in 2016, and after his Coupe de la Ligue performance on Wednesday night, it’s clear to see why.

Starting in his favoured No. 9 position, the Uruguayan forward performed a superb impression of the invisible man. At half-time, the former Napoli man had only touched the ball eight times, as highlighted by OptaJean.

In comparison, playing up front for a team that only had 31 percent possession on the night, Wissam Ben Yedder, who came off after 74 minutes—according to WhoScored.com—touched the ball 25 times, the same total that Cavani managed over the full 90.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Blaise Matuidi only played for 17 minutes, coming off the bench, and they managed 23 touches each.

After PSG’s destruction of Angers at the weekend, and the cohesion the front three showed without Cavani in the lineup, performances like this are not going to convince Blanc to bring the South American striker back into the starting XI.

Loser: Alexis Blin

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Blin tackles Di Maria.

It is hard not to feel sympathy for Toulouse defender Alexis Blin after Wednesday night’s result.

Until they went behind, the 19-year-old midfielder, playing in the centre of defence, was enjoying a superb night. Steeve Yago failed to track the run of Lavezzi for the opening goal, Blin could only watch as the Argentine winger cut in on his blind side to open the scoring.

Then, to put the game beyond doubt, it was a slight deflection off his knee that helped Di Maria’s fierce shot glide into the top corner.

According to WhoScored, Blin made three tackles, five interceptions and five clearances—normally a great performance, if you are not playing against the best team in France.