The French Super Cup, held in Kuwait, had a lot to offer: a late double strike put underdogs Marseille in the lead shortly before the end, but PSG came back deep into extra time and ultimately won the penalty shootout.
As Paris is the reigning champion in both Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France, the 13-time Super Cup winner faced runner-up Marseille in Kuwait.
The match was very entertaining from the start, as both teams played courageously up front. In the 5th minute, Chevalier in the PSG goal had to show all his skills when OM captain Balerdi had a free header from five meters out. The keeper made an outstanding save. And just two minutes later, Nuno Mendes could have made it 1-0 at the other end with a header of his own, but he put the ball wide.
Errors in OM’s build-up play invite Paris to take the lead
Marseille were not only brave going forward, but also overconfident in their own build-up play, which proved to be their undoing in the 13th minute. First, Rulli played a pass that was far too hard for Medina to control. OM just managed to recover, but then Emerson played a misplaced pass into the feet of Vitinha, who set up Dembelé in the penalty area. The world footballer converted with a lob to make it 1-0 (13′).
After taking the lead, PSG were briefly the superior team and almost made it 2-0 through Nuno Mendes, who was denied by Rulli (20′). But then OM got back into the game. First through a number of corners, which PSG almost never defended properly, and then from open play. In the 34th minute, Emerson had a great chance from five meters out, but hit the ball against Chevalier’s chest. Six minutes later, Weah tried an impressive long-range shot that went just wide. So Paris went into the break with a somewhat fortunate 1-0 lead.
The second half started at a much more leisurely pace. But then Marseille had a double chance through Igor Paixao and Pavard, with Chevalier once again making two strong saves (56′). Shortly afterwards, Marseille were caught on the counter and were lucky that Doué’s long-range shot went just wide of the left-hand post (62′). In the 67th minute, former Dortmund player Aubameyang was brought on as a substitute, which was to give the game a new twist.
Marseille turns the game around and gets caught on the counterattack
PSG was also very high up the pitch, so Aubameyang had a lot of space on the right side. In the 70th minute, he got past Chevalier after a through ball, but was then caught by Pacho. Shortly afterwards, however, OM finally had something to cheer about: another through ball reached Greenwood in the penalty area. Chevalier came out too hesitantly, so he jumped too late for the ball and only brought Greenwood down. The fouled player confidently converted the resulting penalty (76′).
And shortly before the end, the underdogs completely turned the game around. A good cross from Traoré on the left went towards Aubameyang, who was ready to shoot, but then Pacho intervened and pushed the ball into his own goal (87′). The final minutes were pretty wild because OM didn’t sit back, but played for a 3-1 win. They were punished deep into stoppage time: an outstanding pass from Vitinha was headed on by Barcola to Goncalo Ramos – and the Portuguese scored to make it 2-2 (90+5).
PSG didn’t show any weakness in the penalty shootout. Chevalier saved the first two OM shots, so that in the end, after Doué’s decisive shot, the score was 4-1. It is Paris’ third Super Cup victory in a row.
PSG will continue their French Cup campaign on Monday (9:10 p.m.) against city rivals FC Paris. Marseille will not play until Tuesday (9 p.m.), also in the cup, in Bayeux.
