Paris Saint-Germain rallied to defeat Marseille 4-1 in a penalty shootout, clinching a thrilling Trophée des Champions in Kuwait.
Ousmane Dembélé opened the scoring for PSG in the 13th minute, but Marseille leveled the match in the second half with a penalty converted by Mason Greenwood.
With just three minutes remaining, Hamed Traore delivered a cross that PSG defender Willian Pacho unfortunately redirected into his own goal, seemingly sealing the victory for Marseille. However, Gonçalo Ramos made it 2-2 deep into stoppage time.
In the shootout, PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier was phenomenal, saving the first two penalties from Marseille before Désiré Doué scored the final penalty, securing a 4-1 win for PSG, the defending champions.
Marseille’s players were visibly emotional as they fell short of clinching their first trophy in 14 years with this heartbreaking loss.
For PSG, this victory marked their dominance, winning 12 of the last 13 Trophée des Champions titles.
YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP via Getty Images
Marseille started strong at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, with Leonardo Balerdi’s header being deftly saved by Chevalier.
PSG quickly capitalized on a mistake, taking the lead in the 10th minute as a stray pass from goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli allowed them to break through. Following a loss of possession by Igor Paixão, PSG midfielder Vitinha set up Dembélé for a shot that lofted over Rulli into the net.
Marseille, who finished as runners-up in Ligue 1 last season, sought to respond but Greenwood’s shot went over the bar.
Just before halftime, Marseille nearly equalized when Paixao’s cross was deflected towards goal by Emerson, but Chevalier made a great reflex save. Timothy Weah‘s long-range shot also went narrowly wide.
Chevalier continued to shine with impressive saves early in the second half, blocking attempts from Amine Gouiri and Paixao.
As PSG started to recover more of the initiative around the hour mark, João Neves had a shot saved by Rulli before Doué narrowly missed the left post with a long-range effort.
Marseille earned a penalty in the 76th minute when Greenwood, after receiving a long ball, was taken down by Chevalier. The former Manchester United striker converted the penalty, placing it in the far corner.
Three minutes from the end, Marseille completed their comeback when Traore’s left-wing cross was inadvertently bundled into the net by Pacho, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang attempted to slide in from the six-yard box.
However, PSG equalized dramatically during the fifth minute of stoppage time with a counter-attack that saw Ramos volley home a pass from Bradley Barcola.
In the ensuing shootout, Chevalier stopped the first two attempts from Marseille, saving shots from Matt O’Riley and then Traore.
After PSG scored their initial three penalties, Amir Murillo converted one for Marseille before Doué clinched the title with his successful spot-kick, adding to PSG’s successful trophy haul.
Information from PA was utilized in this article.