In the recent French Cup final, Jake O’Brien, an Irish player for Olympique Lyon, netted a goal but was unable to pull his team to victory as they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, played in Lille, France. O’Brien’s scored a magnificent header at the 55th minute during a corner when Lyon were already trailing by two goals following strikes from Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz in the first half.
On the same day, the Irish centre-back had a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, informing him of the impact that his two-week trial period had on his football career and how he has since flourished into a star player. O’Brien, a 23-year-old originally from Youghal in Cork who was not highly anticipated upon his arrival, has proven himself to be a significant player for the Lyon team. Known locally as “Big Jake,” he has been a constant in the line-up since the beginning of October, missing only one Ligue 1 game due to suspension.
L’Équipe ranked O’Brien as the highest-scoring Lyon player, with a six out of ten performance rating. Meanwhile, the departure game of famed Kylian Mbappé, who is touted to join Real Madrid, got a performance rating of four.
Paris Saint-Germain, this year’s Ligue 1 champions and winners of the French Super Cup, extended their record by clinching their 15th Cup title and the first since 2021. After the game, Mbappé expressed his emotions, stating he’ll miss the unique experiences he had during his time with the team.
On a more positive note for Irish international football, striker Troy Parrott, currently on loan at Dutch club Excelsior Rotterdam from Tottenham Hotspur, netted in three goals in the second leg of the Eredivisie relegation play-off semi-final tie.