Nice 0-1 Nantes: Ludovic Blas penalty wins French Cup for Nantes
- Published
Nantes lifted the French Cup for the first time in 22 years after a narrow win over Nice at the Stade de France.
Ludovic Blas scored the only goal from the penalty spot two minutes into the second half after Hicham Boudaoui handballed in the area.
Nice came closest to equalising when Andy Delort's effort was cleared off the line by Andrei Girotto late on.
It is the fourth time Nantes have won the French Cup and their first major trophy since 2001's Ligue 1 title.
It also means a place in the Europa League next season, their first European campaign for 20 years.
That represents a dramatic turnaround in fortunes for Antoine Kombouare's side, who needed to win a relegation play-off to stay in the French top flight last season.
Saturday's match was the first French Cup final since 2014 to not feature Paris St-Germain, who Nice beat on penalties in the last 16 in January.