Paris Saint-Germain beat Lyon 2-1 on Saturday night to lift the Coupe de France for a record-extending 15th time and complete a domestic treble of French Super Cup and Ligue 1 championship.
Lyon went into the final at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille as the fairy tale team up against an all-devouring monster.
They had seven points after their first 12 games as club supremos ditched coaches Laurent Blanc and Fabio Grosso.
Academy chief Pierre Sage was appointed first team coach to navigate the morass. Under the Frenchman Lyon stabilised and then transformed themselves into one of the form teams in Ligue 1 claiming 37 out of 45 points from their last 15 games to finish sixth.
In the prelude to Saturday's clash, PSG boss Luis Enrique hailed Sage's skills and identified the side as potential title rivals next season.
Enrique's prediction seemed an unlikely reality as Lyon reverted to their early season haplessness.
PSG defender Nuno Mendes crossed from the left for an unmarked Ousmane Dembélé to head past the Lyon goalkeeper Lucas Perri.
Fabian Ruiz was similarly unattended to drove in the second in the 34th minute.
After the pause, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Kylian Mbappé – playing in his final game for PSG before an expected move to Real Madrid – had chances to extend the lead. But Perri was equal to the shots.
Return
Lyon injected jeopardy into the proceedings in the 55th minute from a set piece. Ryan Cherki swung over a corner from the right and Jake O 'Brien powered home a header past the PSG goalkeeper Gig Donnarumma.
The goal increased Lyon's belief as PSG appeared to lose their composure. But the league champions gradually reimposed their possession game to stretch Sage's men and run down the clock.
In the last 10 minutes, Lyon's players barely got a touch of the ball as Enrique's charges displayed their technical skills and sang froid.
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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 25, 2024
Paris Saint-Germain wins its 15th Coupe de France! 👏❤️💙#WeArePAR15 | #CDF
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"Every competition is important at PSG," Zaïre-Emery told broadcaster France 2 after the victory. "I'm happy to win ... it's my first Coupe de France. We've had a good season and I'm proud of what we've done."
Lyon had been seeking a first trophy since lifting the Coupe de France in 2012. They will play in the Europa League next season.
"It's been a good season to come from where we were," said Cherki. "But we wanted to win the cup.
"I'm disappointed and I'm annoyed. It's a dream to play in a Coupe de France final."
Sage was munificent in defeat. "I'm disappointed for the players and the supporters as we would have liked to give them something to smile about.
"But we did things to give PSG the initiative and ourselves a two-goal handicap. They deserved the victory. They are a great team and showed us just how far we need to go to be able to compete with them."
