Ederson, who replaced Mamadou Bagayoko in the second half, headed home Sebastien Roudet's cross two minutes from time to set up a final against Nancy or Le Mans, who play on Wednesday.

"We were a little bit lucky tonight as we showed some touches of physical tiredness," said Nice coach Frederic Antonetti. "At least we snatched our chance to seal the game when it showed up. We battled for this one."

Monaco were hoping to secure a UEFA Cup place for next season by winning the League Cup but goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz conceded that the principality side lost to the better team.

"Nice put on a great performance and it's not unfair they won tonight," he said. "We had a great desire to reach the final and there's nothing much (else) to say.