Pauleta nets as PSG lift silverware

Lens 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Coupe de la Ligue final, Stade de France, Paris.

Pauleta has expressed his delight at Paris Saint-Germain’s Coupe de la Ligue win over Lens on Saturday, but has urged his team-mates to switch their focus immediately to the fight against relegation.

The veteran striker scored the opening goal in PSG’s 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Lens at the Stade de France, but with the team deep in relegation trouble in 19th place in Ligue 1, Pauleta insists Wednesday’s match with Strasbourg is of even more importance.

“I am very happy,” he said after the showpiece occasion in Paris. “This is a very important trophy for the team and for our morale. We are in a difficult position in the championship and this victory can do us a lot of good.”

“Yes some of the players cried tears, because we put in a lot of work to get to this final and win it. But sincerely, the most important thing now is Wednesday. It will be another final, but much more important than this one. But I repeat: I want to leave PSG with them in Ligue 1. This is most important to me.”

Deft lob

Having shaken off injury to earn a starting place against Lens, Pauleta rose to the occasion by putting PSG ahead on 19 minutes. The 34-year-old showed his renowned goalscorer’s instinct when the ball fell to him inside the box and Pauleta delicately chipped Lens goalkeeper Ronan le Crom.

The club from the capital took their one-goal advantage into the break, but Lens levelled less than seven minutes after the re-start when experienced midfielder Eric Carriere broke through and slid the ball past Mikael Landreau.

Lens were on top for large parts of the second half, during which Pauleta was subbed following a reoccurrence of his injury. However, the crucial and dramatic winning goal arrived deep into injury time when referee Laurent Duhamel awarded a contentious penalty after Helton’s challenge on substitute Pegguy Luyindula.

Tribute to fans

Bernard Mendy stepped up and converted the spot-kick coolly to send the Parisian fans into raptures. As one of the best supported clubs in the country, Pauleta was quick to add his appreciation for PSG’s loyal following, in what has been a hugely testing season for the Parc des Princes faithful.

“Certainly, because they deserve this more than ever,” he said. “They are always behind the team throughout this very difficult season for us. They deserve that we gave them this cup today.”