Trophée des Champions, Final, 25/01/25
Ousmane Dembélé scored an injury-time winner as Paris Saint-Germain defeated AS Monaco (1-0) in Qatar to retain the Trophée des Champions.
PSG dominated the first half in a sparsely populated Stadium 974 in Doha. Philipp Köhn gifted Les Parisiens their first chance of the half, passing out against Thilo Kehrer, allowing Désiré Doué to intercept and fire a shot from Monaco's crossbar. However, he went on to redeem himself and kept a lethargic Principality club level.
He saved from Ousmane Dembélé before making a fingertip save from Lee Kang-in. Monaco's chances were limited in the first half when Takumi Minamino made a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was one of only two shots on target for Monaco in the first half.
Les Monégasques were more extensive at the start of the second half. Köhn was again called upon twice before the hour mark, smothering Dembélé before making a clever save from Doué at his near post. But it was Monaco that had the better chances. Eliesse Ben Seghir took advantage of good work from Vanderson and made a good save from Donnarumma at his near post.
He then returned the favor, setting up Vanderson at the back post just minutes later. The Brazil international was inches away from giving Monaco the lead and hit PSG's post. Les Parisiens reasserted control and almost took the lead. However, Köhn was decisive again and got a swinging hand on Hakimi's attempt near the post. The Moroccan international seemed certain to score.
The match seemed to be heading towards a penalty shootout, but there would be a twist in the story when Fabián Ruiz picked up Ousmane Dembélé at the back post in the 92nd minute. The France international graced the home stretch as they retained their Trophée des Champions crown.
Gianluigi Donnarumma – 5
Nuno Mendes – 6
Willian Pacho – 6
Marquinhos – 5
Achraf Hakimi – 7
PSG's locomotive on the right and most consistent source of ball progression. Defensively, he kept his compatriot, Ben Seghir, quiet for long periods of the match.
João Neves – 6
Vitinha – 6
Warren Zaire-Emery – 5
Désiré Doué – 6
Lee Kang In – 5
Ousmane Dembele – 5
He was quiet for most of the match and wasteful in the first half, yet he appeared in the right place at the right time to score the winner.
Philipp Kohn – 8
The man-of-the-match Köhn was the only reason why this match was not decided earlier. He showed mental toughness to recover from his mistake early in the match before making five excellent saves, and nine in total. Will it be enough to let him keep his spot ahead of No. 1 Radoslaw Majecki?
Caio Henrique – 5
Mohammed Salisu – 6
Thilo Kehrer – 5
Vanderson-7
Dennis Zakaria – 5
Aleksandr Golovin – 4
Eliesse Ben Seghir – 5
Takumi Minamino – 5
Maghnes Akliouche – 6
George Ilenikhena – 4
Under-involved and unable to connect the piece, it was a largely anonymous performance by Ilenikhena. With Monaco looking for a striker this month, he was unable to make a strong case for more minutes in the future.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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