Irish player Jake O’Brien scores in French Cup final after meeting Macron

Ireland’s Jake O’Brien scored a goal in the French Cup final on Saturday night, but his team Olympique Lyon were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in Lille.

O’Brien scored a towering header from a corner in the 55th minute, with Lyon two goals down after first-half strikes from Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz.

Earlier that day, the centre-back shook hands with French Emmanuel Macron. The French president was told O’Brien “did a two week trial, to see if he was good enough and now he’s a star.”

Little was expected of O’Brien when he arrived but the 23-year-old from Youghal in Cork has earned an important spot in the Lyon team. “Big Jake”, as he is called in the Rhône region, broke into the line-up at the start of October and has started every Ligue 1 game since, bar one he missed through suspension. He has been the immovable object in a team that has seen significant rotation throughout the campaign.

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In L’Équipe, O’Brien was rated six out of 10 for his performance, the highest of any Lyon player, while the illustrious Kylian Mbappé was given just a four rating.

The game was Mbappé's farewell match before his expected move to Real Madrid.

The Ligue 1 and French Super Cup champions PSG secured their record-extending 15th Cup title and first since 2021.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the last few years. Saying that it’s all over, it makes my heart ache a little. What I’ve had here, I’ll never find anywhere else,” Mbappé said.

Elsewhere, in more good news for Irish players abroad, striker Troy Parrott scored a hat-trick for Excelsior Rotterdam in the second leg of their Eredivisie relegation play-off semi-final tie. Parrott is on loan at the Dutch club from Tottenham Hotspur.

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