Big brawl breaks out after Mbappe’s injury as PSG win 13th French Cup - WATCH

The injury to Mbappé, who returned to the sideline on crutches, took the gloss off a record-extending 13th cup success and raised concerns ahead of PSG’s Champions League quarterfinal against Atalanta next month.

Paris Saint-Germain returned to football in successful fashion as they captured the French Cup on Friday to make it a season double. PSG defeated a 10-man Saint-Étienne 1-0 to win their 13th French Cup title with record-signing Neymar scoring the only goal of the match. Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Jessy Moulin saved Kylian Mbappe’s shot in the 14th minute but Neymar was there to pounce on the rebound.

Players scrum after PSG's Kylian Mbappe, left down, was tackled during the French Cup soccer final match between Paris Saint Germain and Saint Etienne at Stade de France stadium. (AP)

However, the gloss of that victory was taken off due to an untimely injury to Mbappe. In the 30th minute, Saint-Étienne defender half Loïc Perrin landed a heavy tackle on Mbappe, which led to a straight red. But replays showed the extent of the tackle as Mbappe’s right ankle appeared to buckle under him.

This sparked off a big brawl between the two sides as temperatures flared between the opposing players.

The injury to Mbappé, who returned to the sideline on crutches, raised concerns ahead of PSG’s Champions League quarterfinal against Atalanta next month.

“It just cracked a bit,” Mbappé told French President Emmanuel Macron after the final, as PSG players were about to collect their medals.

Perrin was making his last appearance for Saint-Étienne — 17 years after his debut — and his foul sparked a brief bout of angry shoving between the sides.

Neymar struck PSG’s opening goal from close range in the 14th after goalkeeper Jessy Moulin saved Mbappé’s shot.

It was hard on Saint-Étienne, which hit the post through striker Denis Bouanga early on. Bouanga had a shot well saved by goalie Keylor Navas later in the first half.

But Moulin also had to make a superb one-handed save to keep out Ángel Di María’s curling strike.

Macron spoke at length with the players before kickoff. A maximum of 5,000 fans were allowed at Stade de France because of coronavirus restrictions, but only 2,805 actually attended.

PSG, which lost last season’s final on penalty kicks, had not played a competitive game since March 11 when it faced Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.

Saint-Étienne’s previous match was three days earlier in the French league, before it was canceled with 10 rounds remaining on April 30.

Despite having an extra player, PSG hardly threatened in the second half other than a couple of speculative shots well saved by Moulin.

(with agency inputs)