Paris Saint-Germain win French Champions Trophy

NEW DELHI: Paris Saint-Germain beat Marseille on penalties to win a topsy-turvy French Champions Trophy in Kuwait on Thursday.

PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier was the hero of the night, saving two spot-kicks as PSG took the penalty lottery 4-1 after a frenetic end to the match left the two sides locked at 2-2.

Desire Doue converted the decisive spot-kick after Chevalier had saved efforts from Marseille’s Matt O’Riley and Hamed Traore.

PSG had taken an early lead when its Ballon d’Or-winning attacker Ousmane Dembele deftly lifted the ball over Marseille’s keeper Geronimo Rulli.

Only Rulli’s quick thinking prevented Nuno Mendes from doubling PSG’s advantage minutes later.

Rulli’s opposite number, Chevalier, displayed his own goalkeeping prowess when denying Marseille defender Emerson’s goal-bound shot after the half-hour mark.

PSG had Chevalier to thank again when the stopper somehow kept out Igor Paixao’s header near the hour mark.

But with a quarter of an hour remaining, an ugly challenge by Chevalier triggered a Marseille penalty and, after confirmation from VAR, Mason Greenwood coolly converted the spot-kick.

With the match only three minutes away from penalties, centre-back Willian Pacho’s ill-advised clearance flummoxed his keeper as Marseille suddenly seemed set to seal its first silverware since its 2012 French League Cup title.

But in the fifth minute of injury time, Goncalo Ramos poked Bradley Barcola’s cross in to level and send the game to penalties, and ultimately victory for Luis Enrique’s PSG.

This was PSG’s record-extending 14th win in the equivalent of France’s ‘Super Cup’ in a game virtually shunned by both sides’ fans due to travel costs.

A banner unfurled at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome last Sunday during its 2-0 upset loss to lowly Nantes in Ligue 1 summed up the general mood of dissatisfaction from supporters hanging over the encounter.

The fixture traditionally between the Ligue 1 champion and French Cup winner has led a nomadic existence over the years as the French Football Federation seeks to promote Ligue 1 beyond its borders. Agencies

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