As Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais prepare to face off in this evening’s Coupe de France final, we’re taking a look back at the last time the two sides met at this stage of the competition, in 2008. While the capital side are currently the 800-pound gorilla of Ligue 1, having won all but two of the last eleven league titles, in 2008 the roles were rather reversed.

Lyon, with a young Karim Benzema leading the way, had just won a record seventh consecutive league title. Benzema had finished as top scorer, with Les Gones handily weathering the departures of Éric Abidal, Florent Malouda and Alou Diarra. To reach the final, Lyon had endured several nervy moments, with a stoppage time goal from Benzema in the Round of 16 and Juninho scoring in the 88th minute against Sedan in the semifinals.

For PSG, however, things were rather different. Despite the presence of veterans like Mickäel Landreau, Mario Yepes and Pauleta, the team avoided relegation by just three points, and averaged less than a goal per game in the league. Their progress to the final had been a series of wins over amateur and lower-league sides, and their place in the final was something of a surprise.



In a hard-fought match, neither side looked much like offering resistance, but it was surprisingly PSG who had the upper hand for much of the match, despite Benzema being joined by the likes of eventual matchwinner Sidney Govou, Fred and Juninho in Les Gones’ starting lineup. Early on, Zoumana Camara hit the bar (something he would do again on the hour mark), and Pauleta also rolled back the years, having several good chances blocked or cleared off the line.

Lyon’s defence, led by Sébastien Squillaci and Jean-Alain Boumsong, would ride its luck, but they and Grégory Coupet, the club’s legendary goalkeeper featuring in his final match for the club, kept the capital side at bay and forced the match to extra time. Just before halftime of extra time, with both sides looking ragged, Benzema crossed for Govou, who beat Sylvain Armand to the ball and fired home to give his side the lead.

In the years since, of course, the pendulum has swung back in the other direction, with the capital side having won seven of their fourteen titles since losing to Lyon, but for tonight’s encounter, Les Gones will surely be calling upon the memory of Govou and company as they hope to break a 12-year trophy doubt.
 

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>> Coupe de France final preview
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