Jean-Michel Aulas could not dream of a better gift. Five days after being ousted from his position as president of Olympique Lyonnais after thirty-six years of reign, he saw “his” Lyonnaises offer themselves a tenth Coupe de France by dominating PSG (2-1), Saturday May 13, at the Source d’Orléans stadium.
Friday, on the eve of the meeting, the Rhone players had multiplied the tributes to him, praising his qualities as a builder as much as his investment in favor of the women’s section of OL. “If at this moment he needs comfort and happiness, it is his female team that can bring him. We will do our best to give him this pleasure., had warned Sonia Bompastor, the trainer of the Fenottes. She was imitated by the captain, Wendie Renard, just after the meeting, at the microphone of France 2: “We wanted to win for him. Me, personally, it hurt me before the match to see him like that. We said to ourselves before starting that we absolutely had to bring the Coupe de France home. »
The Lyonnaises kept their word, without being disturbed by the great emotion of Jean-Michel Aulas, his eyes reddened when greeting the players before kick-off. Defending champions, the Parisiennes missed their start to the match. “It’s a big disappointment. We had fifteen minutes of hesitation in the first half, they were more effective.regretted the captain of PSG, Sakina Karchaoui, on France 2.
OL’s Norwegian star Ada Hegerberg took the opportunity to score twice, first from the left from outside the box (1-0, 12e) then with a flat right foot, a few meters from the goal guarded by Constance Picaud (2-0, 23e). Goals celebrated with a heart with fingers in the direction of Jean-Michel Aulas, installed alongside the American Michele Kang, new shareholder of the group and approached to regain control of the women’s section of OL.
women’s #CoupeDeFrance | 🏆 The double for Ada Hegerberg! Served by Danielle van de Donk on the left, the Norwegian… https://t.co/7ah69UIAMl
“With the presence of the president, it was very important to us. I am so happy, insisted the first female Golden Ball (in 2018) at the microphone of BeIN Sports after the final. It’s so important for us, it’s been a rather special week, a little sad, because it’s the end of an era. » In the aftermath, the American Lindsey Horan missed the knockout goal. seeing his head crash into the crossbar (25e).
This failure put PSG back in the game. Eleven minutes later, the Parisiennes equalized on a penalty converted by Ramona Bachmann (2-1, 36e). The last minutes played in numerical inferiority following the expulsion for two warnings from Damaris Egurrola (86e) did not allow Gérard Prêcheur’s players to reverse the trend.
Thanks to this first title in the Coupe de France since 2020 (the 2021 edition had been abandoned due to Covid-19), OL are guaranteed to win at least one major trophy after their early elimination in the Champions League against Chelsea in quarter-finals. A trophy that the Lyonnaises lifted with Jean-Michel Aulas. “There is a lot of emotion and also satisfaction, because it is an exceptional adventure with this women’s team which is really magnificent”he savored on France 2.
A second final in eight days
“For us and the team’s record, finishing with a double would be a minimum in terms of ambition and compared to what we have displayed in terms of objectives”recalled Sonia Bompastor on Friday.
The title of champion of France could quickly follow in a “revenge” of this Coupe de France final. Leader of the D1 Arkéma with three points ahead of their rivals two days from the end, the Fenotttes travel to the Parc des Princes on Sunday May 21 (9 p.m.). A completely different result than a defeat would put Lyon on the road to a 16e national title while a victory in Paris would restore the advantage to PSG, which is chasing after its second coronation. “It will be another context, in another stadium, we will have time to think about it. We are already going to savor this second title after the Champions Trophy”preferred to retain Wendie Renard.
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“See you next Sundaymade an appointment with Sakina Karchaoui. We hope to win the championship. We had two finals. Next week will be the second, we will have to be ready and correct the faults. » Also eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, by Wolfsburg, the Parisiennes no longer have a choice to save their season.