Luis Enrique's version of Paris Saint-Germain won the French Super Cup this Wednesday against Toulouse (2-0), the first trophy of the Spaniard's era on the bench against a very inferior rival who saw his disadvantage widen after a goal in the 3rd minute by Kang-In Lee.
As if that were not enough, after a timid reaction from Toulouse, which crashed a ball into Gianluigi Donnarumma's post, Kylian Mbappé increased the lead on the brink of half-time, leaving the game ready to be decided.
It was the French striker's first game since he is free to negotiate his future with any club, after having given up for now on extending his contract with PSG which expires at the end of this season.
All eyes were on him and the player, once again positioned as 9, once again showed total involvement with the shirt, which leaves all speculation about his future open.
Mbappé thus lifted the twelfth trophy with PSG, which won the tenth Super Cup in the last eleven.
For Luis Enrique, this Super Cup, beyond the symbolic meaning of winning a trophy for the first time outside of Barcelona, is a little more oxygen for his project. The former Spanish coach ran the risk of missing out on a match for which he was a huge favorite, but he showed that he is capable of motivating his troops for a final, which can serve him well in the future.
The duel between Spanish coaches, Luis Enrique against Carles Martínez Novell, could barely be seen in the face of the superiority of the capital's team, who confiscated the ball and devastated the rival area in the first half and only gained some vigor with Toulouse's reaction in the second. .
Martínez Novell had already warned that facing PSG at this point in the season was not a good deal. The duel between the winner of the league and the winner of the Cup, scheduled for August in Thailand, was suspended due to organizational problems and rescheduled for these dates at the Parc des Princes, as the Stade de France is already undergoing renovations to the games.
Everything against those from Toulouse who found themselves a more competitive rival, who every day looks more like the version that Luis Enrique is looking for and who showed that in his country the rivals are very far from his status.
Martínez Novell's men, who have not won since last October 1, are flirting with relegation and that distance widened in a scenario in which everything was against them.
Lee, who will be away for a few months to play the Asian Nations Cup, put the Parisians ahead in the 3rd minute and opened a total harassment that ended with almost total possession of the ball, with few appearances in the Donnaruma area.
The Spanish César Gelabert tried from afar and the Norwegian Aron Donnum found himself in a one-on-one with the Italian goalkeeper. But Parisian rule was hegemonic.
In the 37th minute, Donnarumma deflected a shot from the Dutchman Thijs Dallinga onto the post, but three later the sentence came with a magnificent goal from Mbappé, his 22nd of the season.
Toulouse jumped out of the showers more ambitiously and Dallinga and Gelabert were able to close the gap, but again PSG regained control of the duel and Achraf Hakimi crashed the ball into the post from a free kick taken in the 56th minute.
Martínez Novell's team continued trying and Donnarumma had to multiply and was even surpassed on an occasion by Vincent Sierro that was finally deflected by Marquinhos.
Those from Toulouse had up to five chances against a more subdued PSG, who managed the advantage on the way to the trophy.
The injury of the Slovakian Milan Skriniar allowed the debut of the Brazilian Lucas Beraldo, a 20-year-old defender recently signed by the club, and who cheered up the stands a little, cheering every ball he touched.
Toulouse, who ended up shooting fifteen times against the PSG goal, looked for the goal until the end, but in stoppage time Donnarumma made two good saves from shots by Venezuelan Cristian Casseres.
