Dembele Rescues PSG from Embarrassment to Secure Place in Coupe de France Final After Dramatic Dunkerque Encounter

Paris Saint-Germain narrowly escaped a significant upset, staging a comeback from two goals down to claim a 4-2 victory over Dunkerque, thereby securing their place in the Coupe de France final and inching closer to claiming the trophy for the 16th time.

Despite Dunkerque’s only prior semi-final appearance being in 1929, they managed to take the lead just seven minutes into the match, stunning the visitors. After spending much of the early game on the back foot, Les Maritimes seized their opportunity when Alec Georgen cleverly redirected Naatan Skytta’s free-kick to the back post, allowing Vincent Sasso to blast the ball into the net off the underside of the crossbar.

PSG quickly regained their footing, though almost all of Luis Castro’s players were stationed on the edge of their box, successfully thwarting efforts from Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, and Desire Doue.

The resolve shown by Dunkerque matched PSG’s relentless pursuit. In the 27th minute, the Stade Pierre-Mauroy erupted once more as Gaetan Courtet headed Ewen Jaouen’s long pass towards Muhannad Al-Saad, who outpaced Nuno Mendes before clinically finishing the move.

After Les Maritimes held off a barrage of shots from PSG, Dembele finally found a way through with a fierce strike just before the half-time whistle in the 45th minute.

Skytta and Al-Saad both saw chances blocked leading up to the break, and Dunkerque was left incensed three minutes into the second half when a corner awarded to PSG followed Marquinhos’ missed header. The subsequent corner saw the Brazilian find the net, heading past Jaouen.

Skytta narrowly missed equalising before PSG ramped up the pressure once more, with Doue having one attempt blocked and sending another off target, in between Dembele’s powerful strike being saved.

Dunkerque faced further misfortune as Doue’s shot took a significant deflection that caught Jaouen off guard, who failed to keep the ball from reaching the goal. Nonetheless, the home side refused to back down, with Yacine Bammou posing a threat after his introduction. However, PSG continued their relentless attack, forcing Jaouen to deflect Hakimi’s shot behind for a corner, before the keeper denied another deflected attempt from Doue.

After making valiant efforts to push forward in search of an equaliser, Les Maritimes were ultimately undone in the 94th minute, as Dembele capitalised on a defensive error, racing through to calmly slot the ball home, preserving PSG’s unbeaten domestic record this season and earning them a spot in the Coupe de France final.

This match also marked Dunkerque’s fourth consecutive defeat across all competitions, yet it shouldn’t overshadow the pride they can take from an impressive journey that included victories over three top-flight teams.