Kylian Mbappe propelled Paris St Germain into the Coupe de France final despite a missed penalty as Rennes proved to be a stubborn opponent. (More Football News)
The 25-year-old scored five minutes before half-time and two minutes after seeing his penalty saved by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda at the Parc des Princes, taking his season tally to 32.
His contribution secured a hard-fought 1-0 semi-final win that saw a clash against Lyon at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in May lift the trophy for the first time since 2021.
FULL-TIME: Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Stade Rennais ✅ We have qualified for the final of the Coupe de France! ???? #PSGSRFC 1-0 I #CDF pic. twitter. com/f6nPLuBwRS
Mbappe, who came on (much to his chagrin) with 25 minutes remaining in Sunday’s 2-0 Ligue 1 win at Marseille, was named in a strong PSG starting lineup that also included captain Marquinhos, who was returning from injury.
The striker, who came into the game equalling Pablo Sarabia’s club record of scoring five consecutive games in the competition, came close to doing so with 12 minutes remaining.
However, Mandanda managed to deflect Mbappe’s shot onto the crossbar before striker Arnaud Kalimuendo scored at the other end.
Once back, Mandanda came to Rennes’ rescue 8 minutes before half-time after the French superstar conceded a penalty for his team.
Mbappe dusted himself off to take the shot himself, but saw the goalkeeper put a hand on the ball before Baptiste Santamaria cleared the danger.
The respite was short-lived, however, as PSG’s talisman rallied within two minutes and eventually put his team ahead.
Rennes leader Amine Goueri got up 4 minutes after the restart to remind the home team that the game was far from over, the ever-resilient Mandanda denying Mbappe a moment later 3 minutes later as they responded.
The match remained level until the final whistle, but the visitors may do nothing to prevent league-leading PSG from extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 26 matches.