Jean Canesse, Media365: published on Friday, April 17, 2026 at 9:18 pm
While leading until the 83rd minute against Real Madrid, PSG was eliminated on Friday night in the Youth League semi-final (1-1, penalty shootout: 5-4). On Monday night, the Spaniards will face Bruges for the title.
The disappointment is great for PSG. Ten years after their first (and only) Youth League final, lost at the time to Chelsea (2-1), the capital club hoped to relive this ultimate match before a potential title but fell on penalties against Real Madrid on Friday night. At Stade de la Tuilière in Lausanne, the team coached by Jean-François Vulliez had a tough start to the game, with several interventions by goalkeeper Martin James, but managed to open the scoring just before the half-hour mark. A cross from David Boly on the right, followed by a top-corner strike from Elijah Ly, put the Rouge et Bleu on the right track (0-1, 29th).
Navarro the hero
While dominant, at least offensively, the Parisians experienced the end of the first half and the beginning of the second more serenely, gradually retreating as the end of the match approached. It took the last ten minutes to see PSG crack, after a first sharp shot from Jacobo Ortega, saved by James, then another clear one from Liberto (1-1, 83rd). PSG then resumed playing suddenly, and Rayan Abo El Nay even had the match ball during stoppage time. Dilemma: he met an impeccable Javier Navarro (90+3), who was also the hero of the penalty shootout.
The Madrid goalkeeper, incisive on his line, notably stopped three Parisian attempts from Aymen Assab, Yanis Khafi, and Emmanuel Mbemba, while Martin James made only one save (1-1, penalty shootout: 5-4). The adventure stops at the gates of the final for Mathis Jangeal and his teammates, who finished 13th (out of 36) in the regular phase before eliminating Minsk (4-0 in playoffs), the Finnish team HJK (6-1 in the round of 16), and Villarreal (0-1 in the quarter-finals). In the final, Real Madrid will face Bruges, the Belgian team that secured their spot against Benfica a few hours earlier (1-3).
