The China Mail - PSG beat Reims to win French Cup ahead of Champions League final

Barcola netted two goals in the space of four minutes early on to quickly extinguish whatever hopes Reims had of causing an upset at the Stade de France, and Achraf Hakimi added another goal before half-time.

It was exactly the kind of smooth preparation coach Luis Enrique would have been hoping for ahead of the season-defining game against Inter in Munich next weekend, when PSG will be hoping to win the Champions League for the first time.

However, one minor issue to come out of the evening was the late withdrawal from the team of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The Georgian winger was replaced in the starting line-up by Desire Doue and returned home early due to a headache, according to a source close to the team.

PSG's victory, watched by a crowd of over 77,000 at the national stadium, allowed them to complete a clean sweep of the domestic honours for the second time in as many seasons since Luis Enrique became coach in 2023.

They added the French Cup to the Ligue 1 title as well as the Champions Trophy, France's equivalent of a Super Cup.

PSG have now won the French Cup a record 16 times, including eight times in the last decade. The next most successful club in the history of the competition are Marseille, who won the last of their 10 titles in 1989.

- Barcola double -

Reims were appearing in their first French Cup final since 1977 and were looking to win the trophy for the third time, with their last success coming during their glory days in the 1950s.

They held PSG to draws twice during the league campaign but any prospect of them winning this time probably ended a week ago.

That was when they slumped into the relegation play-off place on the final night of the Ligue 1 campaign, forcing them into a two-legged tie against second-tier Metz which they must win to remain in the top flight next season.

The first leg of that tie ended in a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, and Reims must now prepare for the decisive return match at home next Thursday.

PSG wasted little time in putting their struggling opponents to the sword as Barcola's quickfire brace effectively decided the final before the midway point in the first half.

Doue's through-ball sent Barcola in behind to open the scoring in the 16th minute, and Doue then latched onto a Marquinhos pass before squaring for Barcola to tap in and make it 2-0 on 19 minutes.

The double took Barcola to 21 goals for the season in all competitions, a tally bettered only in the PSG squad by Ousmane Dembele with 33.

They had chances to score again in this one-sided contest before Hakimi made it 3-0 two minutes prior to the interval, arriving at the back post to cushion in a Barcola cross, finishing off a great move.

That was the end of the scoring as Luis Enrique -- who gave Matfey Safonov a start in goal ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma -- took the chance to ring the changes after the break.

However, Barcola was only a denied a hat-trick by a good save from Reims goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf, who also turned a Dembele cross-cum-shot onto the post.

R.Yeung--ThChM