A 93rd-minute penalty from Bernard Mendy gave Paris Saint-Germain FC a 2-1 victory over RC Lens in the French League Cup final at the Stade de France.

With the game seemingly destined for extra time, PSG striker Péguy Luyindula fell under the challenge of Lens captain Vitorino Hilton and Mendy coolly converted the spot-kick. The win, PSG's third in the competition, earned a UEFA Cup place for Paul Le Guen's men while shattering their Ligue 1 relegation rivals – the capital club sit third-from-bottom in the table, with Lens one place and two points better off.

PSG started the brighter of the sides and took a 19th-minute lead through Pauleta. The former Portugal forward finished with a delicious lob over goalkeeper Ronan Le Crom after the ball dropped to him in the Lens area. Yet Jean-Pierre Papin's team got stronger as the match wore on, equalising when Eric Carrière angled a shot perfectly beyond the reach of Mickaël Landreau after 52 minutes. Lens then looked the more likely winners, with Olivier Monterrubio hitting the post and Yohan Demont forcing a late tip-over from Landreau. However, Lens' dream was then broken with PSG's last attack of regulation time.