A goal from Kylian Mbappé, who had missed a penalty minutes earlier, stopped by Steve Mendanda, was enough for Paris Saint-Germain to seal victory against Stade Rennes (1-0) and secure a spot in the French Cup final, where they will face Lyon, who eliminated Valenciennes on Tuesday.

The first cup final since the 2020-21 season consolidates Luis Enrique's project, who kept the French star until the end of the match. There were no substitutions for the top scorer of the Parisian team, the player who created the most danger throughout the semifinal against an opponent they had failed to beat in their last two encounters.

The fourteen-time Cup champion is now in its twentieth final after capitalizing on Mbappé's goal, who found the net on the third occasion he had. Before that, PSG narrowly escaped conceding. Gianluigi Donnarumma thwarted Arnaud Kalimuendo's chance twelve minutes into the game. Shortly after, Mbappe had his first chance. He was stopped by Mandanda, who diverted the captain's shot onto the crossbar.

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The penalty came just past the hour mark, from a foul by Adrien Truffert on Nuno Mendes. Mbappé took the responsibility for the action, but Mandanda stretched and with one hand diverted the shot from the penalty spot.

The goal came on the third attempt, in the 40th minute. He received a through ball from Fabian Ruiz and inside the box, he shot low. It deflected off a defender, deceived the goalkeeper, and went in for a goal. The goal gave his team the pass to the final.

Mbappé then persisted. He had another chance, with a shot from outside the box, an hour into the game. Mandanda emerged as the best player on his team, preventing a bigger defeat.

Luis Enrique made changes. Rennes improved. Kalimuendo had another opportunity, with a header, which could have equalized for Julien Stephan's side, and Marco Asensio, who came on for the last half-hour, could have sealed the win ten minutes from time.