"We are in the final," chanted the nearly 34,000 supporters, thousands of whom invaded the field, in a yellow tide dancing and singing, after Moses Simon's last shot.

The joy of Nantes supporters, during the semi-final of the Coupe de France against Monaco, on March 2, 2022 at the Stade de La Beaujoire LOIC VENANCE AFP

The duel promised to be tight, it was.

On the one hand, ambitious and revengeful Monegasques but not successful in Ligue 1, on the other Nantes residents on the brink of the abyss last year but now 7th in the championship and recent winners of PSG.

This match 10 days ago was the consecration of Alban Lafont, imperial goalkeeper and captain.

On Wednesday, it was Rémy Descamps, the N2 designated for the Coupe de France, who distinguished himself by stopping Wissam Ben Yedder's first shot on goal.

Opposite, Randal Kolo Muani and Quentin Merlin, the two young people from the training center sent to shoot first, did not tremble.

At kick-off, however, Kolo Muani, scorer in the 4th minute against PSG, missed the opportunity to give his side the advantage from the first exchanges, in a stadium immersed in the fog of smoke triggered by the Nantes Ultras .

Sidibé against his side

And after several dangerous actions, it was the Monegasques who quickly took the lead thanks to a superb header from the back of Guillermo Maripan on a free kick from Caio Henrique (0-1, 12th).

Monaco's Chilean defender Guillermo Maripan opens the scoring against Nantes, in the semi-final of the Coupe de France, on March 2, 2022 at the Stade de La Beaujoire LOIC VENANCE AFP

But the people of Nantes did not give up, both on the field and in the stands, where the two turns answered each other at length: "Come on from Nantes, we are proud of you, we will go to the end".

A veritable poison for the Monegasque defence, Kolo Muani took it upon himself to intercept a bad raise to run on the counter and slip the ball to Moses Simon.

By trying to intercept, Djibril Sidibé deceived Alexander Nübel and put the two teams back to back (1-1, 21st).

The joy of Nantes after an own goal scored by Monegasque defender Djibril Sidibé, in the semi-final of the Coupe de France, on March 2, 2022 at the Stade de La Beaujoire LOIC VENANCE AFP

With heavy pressing and a lot of commitment on both sides, the match remained very lively.

Monaco got the best chances, but Nantes resisted, like the numerous interventions of the "rock" Nicolas Pallois and a courageous save from the head at the 2nd post of the young Quentin Merlin in front of Vanderson (58th).

Following a moment of confusion in the Monaco area, Samuel Moutoussamy emerged to give his team the advantage (2-1, 74th), putting the stadium in a trance.

The joy of Nantes after a goal scored against his side by Monegasque defender Djibril Sidibé, during their semi-final of the Coupe de France, on March 2, 2022 at the Stade de La Beaujoire LOIC VENANCE AFP

But Myron Boadu, barely entering the game and forgotten in the Nantes area, immediately equalized with a header (2-2, 76th).

And if the two teams have continued to press, they have not yet been able to decide, as in their two confrontations this season in Ligue 1: 1-1 in Monaco in August and 0-0 in Nantes in January.

Each time, Monaco had dominated and Nantes resisted well.

Three times titled (1979, 1999 and 2000), the Yellow and Green will return to the Stade de France for the first time since their defeat against Sochaux in the Coupe de la Ligue final in 2004.

The campaign was off to a bad start, however, with a narrow qualification in the 32nd final precisely at Sochaux (L2, 0-0, 6-5 on pens), before lenient draws: Vitré (N2, 2-0), Brest (2 -0) and Bastia (L2, 2-0).

For Monaco, it is a new disappointment before a crucial series for its season: matches against Marseille, Strasbourg and PSG in L1, interspersed with the double confrontation with the Portuguese from Braga in the round of 16 of the Europa League.

© 2022 AFP