The unfortunate Issa Cissokho headed agonisingly into his own net in stoppage time to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win over Angers in the French Cup final at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Extra time loomed at France's national stadium -- where French President Emmanuel Macron was among the spectators -- when Cissokho turned an Angel Di Maria corner past his own goalkeeper while under pressure from Blaise Matuidi at the near post.
It
was a desperately harsh way for Angers to lose, as PSG ended a
frustrating season by winning a third consecutive French Cup and a
record 11th overall in the centenary edition of the tournament.
It joins the League Cup
in the PSG trophy cabinet and provides some more consolation for the
capital side after a season that will be best remembered for their
failures elsewhere.
Unai Emery's side missed out on the league title to Monaco after winning Ligue 1 in each of the previous four campaigns and exited the Champions League in humiliating fashion to Barcelona in the last 16.
That
6-1 defeat at the Camp Nou -- after they had won the first leg 4-0 at
home -- will be a lasting stain on PSG's reputation and that of Emery.
However,
their status as domestic Cup specialists remains very much intact after
this victory against a hard-working Angers side who were appearing in
their first French Cup final in 60 years.
Defeat
means they have still never won a major trophy, while PSG have now
lifted the French Cup six times just since 2004 and have won their last
32 domestic Cup ties.
It also means Bordeaux, who came sixth in the league, go into next season's Europa League, with Paris already assured a Champions League berth after coming second.
Given
the gulf in resources between the two teams, it would have been an
almighty shock had Paris not come out on top, although they were pushed
all the way by a side who finished 12th in Ligue 1.
Macron
just made it back from the G7 summit in Sicily in time to take to the
pitch before kick-off, shaking the hands of the players from both sides.
His
entry onto the pitch was greeted with loud jeers from the Paris fans at
the south end of the ground -- the newly-elected leader does not hide
his affinity for PSG's bitter rivals Marseille.
When
the action began, PSG created most of the chances, while Angers rarely
looked like scoring apart from when exciting Ivorian winger Nicolas Pepe crashed a volley against the post from 22 yards out in the first half.
Before that Angers goalkeeper Alexandre Letellier saved from Matuidi and Edinson Cavani, while there was a fright for Stephane Moulin's team when Serge Aurier's low, driven cross flashed across goal with no takers just before the interval.
Many
PSG fans thought a Di Maria free-kick just before the hour mark had
gone in rather than strike the side-netting, but the holders looked the
more likely side to find the breakthrough as time wore on.
They should have scored with six minutes left but Cavani, after holding off the muscular attentions of Angers defender Ismael Traore, prodded wide of the target.
The Uruguayan fell one short of reaching 50 goals for the season in all competitions -- the figure reached last season by Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a PSG shirt -- as Cissokho's moment of misfortune decided the contest.
