A single, stunning strike from Xeka was enough to separate Lille from Paris Saint Germain in French Football’s traditional curtain-raiser – the Trophee des Champions, a one-off match between the French league and cup winners.
Les Dogues broke Paris Saint Germain’s hegemony over the Trophee des Champions by winning the 2021 edition of the competition. The Parisiens had won the trophy eight times in a row from 2013 till 2020, but were unable to make it nine out of nine due to a first-half wonder-strike by Lille midfielder, Xeka.
The two teams travelled to Tel Aviv, Israel, to play the one-off match between the French league and cup winners. Bloomfield Stadium was the venue selected for the game, meaning eleven of the last twelve venues to have hosted the cup were outside of France. Nevertheless, the two teams took to the field in Tel Aviv nearly at full strength. There were new faces in both camps as well, as Achraf Hakimi started the game for the Parisiens while Jocelyn Gourvennec took to the Les Dogues dugouts for his first ‘official’ match.
Lille’s Burak Yilmaz was presented with the game’s early opportunities, albeit none were clear-cut. At the other end, PSG benefitted from Hakimi’s directness and pace, but the Moroccan’s crosses into the box were defended well by Lille. The game’s first big save was made by Leo Jardim, who parried away a shot from distance by Julian Draxler.
The breakthrough arrived just before half-time. Yilmaz held the ball up inside the PSG box before rolling it to teammate Xeka just outside of it. The Portuguese midfielder composed himself before curling in a wonderful strike past Keylor Navas in the PSG goal. The Parisiens tried to salvage a goal in the next forty-five, with Marquinhos going close from a corner. However, Les Dogues kept their cool and held on to their narrow lead to win the cup.
Lille will hope to use their Trophee des Champions win as a springboard for further success. They begin their title defense away to Metz on matchday 1.
The Parisians will be looking to snatch the league title back from the minnows after bringing some big names in this summer. PSG begin their title challenge on August 8 against newly promoted Troyes.
