Thursday, May 20, 2021
Disappointment for Volland
PSG defend cup against Monaco
The new cup winner is the old one: Paris St. Germain successfully defends the title against coach Niko Kovac and AS Monaco. Superstar Neymar has no part in it, he is absent due to a suspension.
National team returnee Kevin Volland and ex-Bayern coach Niko Kovac missed winning the French Football Cup with AS Monaco. The Monegasque lost in the final on Wednesday against defending champion Paris Saint-Germain 0: 2 (0: 1). For the capital club PSG, where ex-Schalke Thilo Kehrer was in the starting line-up, it was the sixth cup triumph in the past seven years.
The Kovac team, which had won against PSG twice in the championship, lost the final in the empty Stade de France in front of President Emmanuel Macron after a nasty mistake of their own. Axel Disasi was the last man to lose the ball to world champion Kylian Mbappé, who unselfishly played for Mauro Icardi (19th). In the closing stages, Mbappé made the victory perfect (81st). Brazilian superstar Neymar was absent due to suspension.
Volland, who last stormed for Germany in November 2016, was surprisingly called into the EM squad on Wednesday by Joachim Löw. The striker had a strong year in Monaco with 16 league goals so far. “I’m very disappointed, losing a final is always a bad feeling,” said Volland at the press conference after the game. The team had to “lift their heads straight away because we have an important game on Sunday (in the league, ed.)”.
PSG are spared an untitled season due to the success. In the Champions League, coach Mauricio Pochettino’s team failed at Manchester City in the semifinals. In the league, the star ensemble takes second place before the last matchday.
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