Trophee Des Champions: Marseille Should Have Won, Pavard States After Penalty Shootout Loss

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Paris Saint-Germain edged Marseille to lift the Trophee des Champions, winning 4-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw, yet Benjamin Pavard argued Marseille had done enough to claim the trophy, pointing to a late equaliser from Goncalo Ramos and two crucial saves by PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier in the shoot-out.

The match swung several times, as Mason Greenwood converted a penalty and a Willian Pacho own goal turned a deficit into a 2-1 lead for Marseille late on, before Ramos levelled for PSG in the 95th minute to force penalties, where Chevalier saved two Marseille efforts to secure the 4-1 shoot-out success.

Pavard underlined how close Marseille came to the trophy and expressed strong frustration at the finale, while also stressing pride in the overall display, telling Ligue 1+: "Disappointed, because if we'd been two or three minutes away from bringing the trophy back to Marseille, I think we deserved to win, we found the gaps. Unfortunately, that goal at the end is a real pain. Now, we have to build on this match to get going. We also wasted some opportunities. I'm proud of the team."

Pavard then contrasted the Trophee des Champions performance with Marseille’s recent league setback against Nantes, insisting the display against PSG better reflected the squad’s identity, saying: "The true face of OM is what we showed tonight, not what we showed against Nantes," before stressing mindset and intensity with further comments: "We need to build on this mentality and the aggression we displayed from the first minute. We managed to maintain control of the ball. There are still competitions where we can win titles. There are many positives to take away from this match."

The Trophee des Champions setback followed a 2-0 Ligue 1 defeat to Nantes for Marseille, a result that left Marseille seven points behind second-place PSG and eight adrift of leaders Lens, increasing pressure on Roberto De Zerbi’s side while highlighting the importance of the strong display against PSG despite the penalty loss.

PSG head coach Luis Enrique acknowledged that Marseille’s approach under De Zerbi caused major problems across the Trophee des Champions contest and praised the work being done, stating: "It was very intense," said Luis Enrique. "We had a decent start to the match, but in the end, OM played very well; they deserved to be in the game. It was very difficult. They played better than us, although I still need to analyse the match. I have to congratulate De Zerbi, who everyone criticises. He's a very good coach."

The Trophee des Champions outcome highlighted mixed emotions for Marseille, who left without silverware but with an assertive performance against the European champions, while PSG celebrated another trophy, and both Pavard and Luis Enrique pointed to Marseille’s display as a benchmark that could influence the next stages of the Ligue 1 and cup campaigns.