Arkema Premier League: PSG joins Lyon in the championship final, emotion for Thiney

Paris SG Women's team joined Olympique Lyonnais in the Premier League final by eliminating Paris FC (3-0), whose now-retired captain Gaëtane Thiney was playing her last match. It was a revenge match, a week after PFC's victory in the Coupe de France final against PSG (0-0, 5-4 on penalties). The PSG players managed to recover from a hectic week, the result of this defeat, under the watchful eye of PSG president Nasser al-Khelaïfi and France national team coach Laurent Bonadei.

In one week, their coach, Fabrice Abriel - criticized for his results, his management and his strained relations with executives Grace Geyoro and Sakina Karchaoui - was suspended on Monday and temporarily replaced by Paulo Cesar, who until then coached the U19s. The same day, an altercation took place between sporting director Angelo Castellazzi and star striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto . The center forward, at the end of her contract and about to leave the club she has played for since she was 12, remained on the bench and under her hoodie throughout the match. The player who warmed up before the match will therefore have the opportunity to play her last minutes in the Parisian jersey during the championship final next Friday in Lyon, at the Groupama Stadium.

For his second match in less than five days on the bench, Paulo César favored a three-man defense with a midfield of Karchaoui, Geyoro, and Groenen, who combined well, also taking advantage of defensive errors by Sandrine Soubeyrand's players. Symbolically, Sakina Karchaoui freed her teammates by doubling the lead with a well-crossed shot, which beat the PFC goalkeeper, who was not well placed enough (2-0, 55th). The French international, who was not called up for several matches by former coach Fabrice Abriel, celebrated her goal in the arms of her substitute.

Early in the match, PSG striker Romée Leuchter opened the scoring after taking advantage of a major misunderstanding between goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie and defender Deja Davis, who struggled throughout the match (1-0, 2nd). The teammates of Clara Mateo, the league's top scorer who tried but failed to score (21st, 27th), never recovered from this disastrous start. PSG attacking midfielder Korbin Albert made the score worse at the very end of the match (3-0, 90th+1).

This semi-final is therefore the last match for Gaëtane Thiney, 39, after a 25-year career (493 matches played), including twelve as an international between 2007 and 2019 (163 caps, 58 goals). The player, who was still one of PFC's most prominent players on Sunday evening, won her first trophy last week, after the victory in the Coupe de France. At the final whistle, the entire team rallied around the captain, moved to tears.