Monaco beats Rumilly-Vallieres 5-1 to reach French Cup final

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<p>PARIS &mdash; Monaco fell behind but quickly recovered to rout fourth-tier Rumilly-Vallieres 5-1 on Thursday and set up a French Cup final against title holder Paris Saint-Germain.</p>
<p>PSG has reached seven straight finals and aims for a record-extending 14th trophy next Wednesday at Stade de France. Monaco bids for a sixth cup victory, having last won in 1991 and losing its previous final to PSG in 2010.</p>
<p>Monaco is third in the French league and pushing for a Champions League spot, yet fell behind in the 20th minute after ex-pro Alexi Peuget netted following a poor clearance from defender Djibril Sidibe.</p>
<p>Monaco equalized seven minutes later when home midfielder Arthur Bozon headed a cross into his own net, and led five minutes later as midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni headed in from a corner delivered by Cesc Fabregas.</p>
<p>Kevin Volland missed an open goal for Monaco from close range shortly before the break. But strike partner Wissam Ben Yedder put the game beyond doubt with a flick over the goalie in the 55th for his 21st goal of the season.</p>
<p>Former World Cup winner Fabregas floated in a deft free kick before Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin added the fifth as Monaco coasted.</p>
<p>In Wednesday’s tense semifinal, PSG led twice through goals by Kylian Mbappe but <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ligue-1-europe-soccer-sports-020f567ab81e0775db593b86fa0ded4a">needed penalty kicks </a> to beat Montpellier.</p>
<p>PSG is second in the French league and two points ahead of Monaco with two games remaining, but lost home and away to Monaco this season.</p>
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