Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar struck early to secure a 1-0 win over 10-man Saint-Etienne as they claimed the Coupe de France on Friday in a near empty stadium as French football came out of a four-month break due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
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Neymar scored on the rebound in the 14th minute after PSG striker Kylian Mbappe sprinted clear and saw his shot blocked by goalkeeper Jessy Moulin, with only 5,000 fans in the 80,000-seater Stade de France due to strict health protocols.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron had met the players on the pitch but kept his distance and wore a face mask.
The atmosphere in the run-up to the first professional game in France after the long hiatus was far from festive with only a handful of people around the stadium before the match.
The contest got off to an eventful start with Yvann Macon felling Neymar in the opening seconds to earn a yellow card and St Etienne’s Denis Bouanga hitting the post in the fifth minute.
But it was the Parisians who scored when Neymar pounced on Moulin’s save to fire in.
Mbappe was injured in the 26th minute from a rough challenge by Saint-Etienne captain Loic Perrin, who was sent off.
With Ligue 1 champions PSG chasing a quadruple of titles this season, the few fans in the stands breathed a sigh of relief when Mbappe returned on crutches to the bench after the interval, joking and laughing with his team mates.
Saint-Etienne, who had hit the post in the fifth minute through Denis Bouanga, had their share of chances even after going a man down, but missed out on adding to their six Cup wins.