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French Cup win perfect tune-up for Champions League final, says Enrique
Gulf Today
|May 26, 2025
Paris Saint-Germain warmed up for their Champions League final showdown with Inter Milan by winning the French Cup on Saturday as Bradley Barcola scored twice in a comfortable 3-0 win against Reims.
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Barcola netted twice in the space of four minutes early on to quickly extinguish whatever hopes Reims had of causing an upset at the Stade de France, and Achraf Hakimi added another goal before half-time.
It was exactly the kind of smooth preparation coach Luis Enrique would have been hoping for ahead of the season-defining game against Inter in Munich on May 31, when PSG will be hoping to win the Champions League for the first time.
"It was a really great evening. We got the job done quickly and we are pleased with the victory," Barcola told broadcaster France 2.
"We knew we had to do the job in order to prepare in the best way possible for the (Champions League) final, we did it, and now we can go into the next match full of confidence."
One minor issue to come out of the evening was the late withdrawal from the team of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The Georgian winger was replaced in the starting line-up by Desire Doue and returned home early.
This story is from the May 26, 2025 edition of Gulf Today.
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