02 April,2017 03:28 PM IST | | IANS
Paris Saint-Germain's attacking trio of Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and Julian Draxler shone in their fourth straight French League Cup final victory, as they beat toughest rivals of the season AS Monaco 4-1
Paris Saint-Germain's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the French League Cup final football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Monaco (ASM) on April 1, 2017, at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon. Pic/AFP
Lyon (France): Paris Saint-Germain's attacking trio of Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and Julian Draxler shone in their fourth straight French League Cup final victory, as they beat toughest rivals of the season AS Monaco 4-1.
It was the first time that French League Cup, inaugurated in 1995, saw its final staged outside the Paris region, reports Xinhua news agency.
The capital club took on an early lead just four minutes into the game here on Saturday, as Marco Verratti's pass found Di Maria, who unselfishly steered Draxler to put the ball into an empty goal.
Monaco, who have tallied 130 goals in all competitions so far, levelled the game on 27 minutes, thanks to Thomas Lemar's curling shot past goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.
However, Monaco's offense was pretty influenced by the absence of Radamel Falcao, who failed to recover from a hip injury that has sidelined him several games, and suspended Fabinho, while their leak in defense did much damage on the other hand.
After Draxler fed Di Maria for a comfortable tap in, reigning champions PSG fared smoothly in the second half with Cavani's dominant play. With a brace, the Uruguayan striker set a personal best of 40 goals in a single season, overshadowing his previous record of 38 with Serie A side Napoli.
Cavani volleyed Verratti's sublime floated cross past Monaco goalie Danijel Subasic, before adding another spotlight show by putting Di Maria's cross from the left flank into the net.
After harvesting their seventh French League Cup trophy in history, PSG, who experienced some troubles after humiliating Champions League exit caused by Barcelona, could still end the season with a domestic treble.
PSG were three points adrift Monaco on second place in Ligue 1, and they have reached last 8 in French Cup.
