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Late Dembele strike wins PSG French Champions Trophy in Doha / Photo: © AFP
Late Dembele strike wins PSG French Champions Trophy in Doha
Ousmane Dembele's stoppage-time goal settled the French Champions Trophy on Sunday, giving Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win over Monaco in a fixture played in Doha.
PSG's troubles in front of goal this season have often cost them in the Champions League, and they were thwarted throughout this game by a combination of poor finishing and some fine saves by Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Koehn.
However, it was ultimately a deserved victory for Luis Enrique's team, as PSG won the trophy -- the French equivalent of a Super Cup or England's Community Shield -- for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons.
This fixture was supposed to be staged in Beijing on August 8 as the curtain-raiser to the French campaign.
However, it ended up being called off by the Chinese authorities, and Qatar -- which owns PSG via Qatar Sports Investments -- stepped in to offer to stage the game.
It took place at Doha's Stadium 974, which was a host venue at the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar and which was not full for the occasion.
PSG won a clean sweep of the domestic honours in France last season and were looking to claim the first leg of another treble in this campaign.
A 4-2 win away in Monaco last month, when Dembele scored a double, allowed them to finish 2024 with a 10-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 from both Marseille and the principality club.
When Desire Doue pounced on a slack pass out by Koehn and sent a shot off the bar on eight minutes, it looked like it was going to be a very long evening for Monaco.
Vitinha sent a shot just wide and Lee Kang-in had a thunderous strike tipped over by Koehn, although Monaco also threatened when a Maghnes Akliouche hit was tipped away by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Eliesse Ben Seghir also tested PSG's Italian goalkeeper shortly after the break, and Vanderson hit the post from a tight angle for Monaco, but PSG stepped up the pressure as the second half went on.
The game was nevertheless heading for penalties before the goal came in the 92nd minute, as substitute Fabian Ruiz was released down the left and sent a low ball across the penalty area for Dembele to convert at the far post.
V.J. Coelho--JDB
