Nantes beat Nice to win French Cup final

Ludovic Blas drilled home a penalty at the start of the second half to bring Nantes the club's first major trophy since winning the Ligue 1 title in 2001.

For much of the season, Nice, owned by Ineos, the group chaired by Monaco-based British petrochemicals billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, looked certain to qualify for the Champions League but, after a recent stumble, could miss out on Europe altogether.

Nantes, who only avoided relegation in a play-off last year, lifted the French Cup for the fourth time and qualified for Europe for the first time in two decades, earning a place in the Europa League.

After the two finals played in an almost entirely empty stadium due to the pandemic, a sell-out crowd of around 80,000 packed the Stade de France - roughly two-thirds Nantes supporters.

Nice knocked out Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille en route to a first final since 1997, but struggled to create chances with Amine Gouiri and Kasper Dolberg both without a goal in the league since January.