Marseille vs. PSG: Winners and Losers from French Cup Final
On Saturday night, in front of a packed Stade de France, Paris Saint-Germain completed a second-consecutive quadruple by beating Olympique de Marseille, 4-2, in the final of the Coupe de France.
OM boss Franck Passi took the brave decision to start the game in a 4-4-2 formation, with both Steven Fletcher and Michy Batshuayi upfront, and they would have feared the worst when Blaise Matuidi opened the scoring after just three minutes.
"la passe de l'exter de dimaria pic.twitter.com/aTVyulHFxM
— philippe (@philousports) May 21, 2016"
Angel Di Maria played in a beautiful cross with the outside of his left foot, and the Frenchman was unmarked inside the box to add the finish.
Luckily for OM, they were able to bounce back after 12 minutes. Florian Thauvin got the better of Maxwell and his left-foot shot took a slight deflection off Thiago Silva's boot to beat Salvatore Sirigu in at the bottom corner.
It was all poised going into the second half, but then Zlatan Ibrahimovic took control, scoring one before setting up Edinson Cavani for the third. Then, just to put the icing on the cake, the outgoing striker sealed the 4-2 win, slotting past Steve Mandanda after Matuidi played him in.
Marseille didn’t show anything of note in the second half, adding a consolation second once the game was already over. They will wonder what could have been.
Here are the winners and losers from PSG’s win over Marseille in the Coupe de France.
WINNER: Blaise Matuidi (PSG)
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The final will always be remembered for it being Ibrahimovic’s final game for the club, and the Swede deserves all the plaudits, but Matuidi played his part on Saturday.
Scoring after just three minutes—finishing Di Maria’s excellent cross—he put PSG in control of the match.
Helped by the defensive performances of Adrien Rabiot and Benjamin Stambouli, Matuidi would also set up Ibrahimovic for the crucial fourth—and his last-ever goal for the club.
LOSER: Mauricio Isla (Marseille)
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On what is most likely be his last game for the club, Mauricio Isla got caught sleeping at the start of Saturday’s final.
You need to be on your toes against PSG, and the Juventus man left Matuidi unmarked in the opening minutes to let the France midfielder fire his team in front.
There’s no doubt the Chilean lost the battle in the middle of the park, unable to stop the threat of Matuidi or Rabiot, which is vital when you are playing with just two central midfielders.
WINNER: Florian Thauvin (Marseille)
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His time back on loan at Marseille may have been a mixed success overall, but he has ended the season in style.
Despite the 4-2 defeat, Thauvin gave the underdogs hope during a tight first half.
It was the Newcastle United winger who scored the only goal as Marseille beat Sochaux, 1-0, to qualify for the final, and it was the 23-year-old again who gave his team a glimmer of hope on Saturday night. Equalising just nine minutes after going behind to the champions.
His goal may have taken a deflection off Silva before finding the net, but it counts all the same. Thauvin was also lucky to get away with a clear handball in his own penalty box with the scores level in the first half.
"ca va faire parler a la mi-temps pic.twitter.com/ssVWDYTXUP
— philippe (@philousports) May 21, 2016"
Forget the disappointing performances from January to March, Thauvin turned up when it counted, and that’s what the OM fans will remember.
LOSER: Nicolas Nkoulou (Marseille)
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Saturday was not a good night for the OM centre-back. He brought Matuidi down with a clumsy challenge for the penalty early in the second half, handing PSG control of the game. Then he was caught out for the fourth when the French midfielder slipped in Ibrahimovic.
For too much of the game, the centre-back, not aided by Karim Rekik's similarly poor performance, looked lost and confused. Not the best way to bow out if he is to leave the club on a free transfer in the summer.
WINNER: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG)
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The first half was tight and balanced, but then Ibrahimovic took centre stage. Nkoulou brought Matuidi down in the box, handing PSG an early second-half penalty—the Swede stepped up to score his 55th goal in all competitions this season.
Then he turned provider, setting up Cavani for the vital third, but he would grab the spotlight one last time before earning his standing ovation. Slipped in by Matuidi, PSG’s all-time top scorer would place his right-foot effort beyond Mandanda and leave the club on a high.
"#Zlatan goes out with a bang scoring 2 goals in the #CoupedeFrance Final! pic.twitter.com/LWnKeNziOl
— KICK (@KICK) May 21, 2016"
