PARIS, July 25: A tearful Kylian Mbapp limped off with an apparent ankle injury as Paris Saint-Germain beat 10-man Saint-tienne 1-0 to win the French Cup.
The injury to Mbapp, who returned to the sideline on crutches, took the gloss off a record-extending 13th cup success and raised concerns ahead of PSG�s Champions League quarterfinal against Atalanta next month.
Saint-tienne center half Loc Perrin was sent off in the 30th minute for clumsily hacking down Mbapp as he sprinted past, and Mbapp�s right ankle appeared to buckle under him.
It just cracked a bit, Mbapp told French President Emmanuel Macron after the final, as PSG players were about to collect their medals.
Perrin was making his last appearance for Saint-tienne 17 years after his debut and his foul sparked a brief bout of angry shoving between the sides.
Neymar struck PSG�s opening goal from close range in the 14th after goalkeeper Jessy Moulin saved Mbapp�s shot.
It was hard on Saint-tienne, which hit the post through striker Denis Bouanga early on. Bouanga had a shot well saved by goalie Keylor Navas later in the first half.
But Moulin also had to make a superb one-handed save to keep out ngel Di Mara�s curling strike.
Macron spoke at length with the players before kickoff. A maximum of 5,000 fans were allowed at Stade de France because of coronavirus restrictions, but only 2,805 actually attended.
PSG, which lost last season�s final on penalty kicks, had not played a competitive game since March 11 when it faced Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.
Saint-tienne�s previous match was three days earlier in the French league, before it was canceled with 10 rounds remaining on April 30. � AP
