A week after their victory away at Le Havre AC (0–1), Paris Saint-Germain returned to Ligue 1 action and faced a familiar opponent: AS Monaco. For this fourth meeting of the season with the club from the Principality, the Rouge et Bleu had a major objective: to secure an eighth consecutive league victory. It was always going to be a difficult task against a Monaco side in great form, who created the first chance through their captain Denis Zakaria, whose header went over the bar (5’).
Paris’ response came quickly, with Achraf Hakimi driving into the opposition box and combining with Bradley Barcola before being denied by Philipp Köhn, who made a decisive save (6’). But just as Paris were becoming increasingly threatening, Monaco benefited from a lucky rebound in the club from the capital’s penalty area, and Maghnes Akliouche made no mistake in opening the scoring for his side (0–1, 27’). Despite repeated stoppages from Monaco that disrupted the rhythm, Paris tried to raise the tempo. With Nuno Mendes leading the charge, the hosts attacked down the left wing but still failed to trouble the opposing goalkeeper. The best example came when Gonçalo Ramos arrived just too late to connect with an excellent cross from the Portuguese full-back (45’).
At the start of the second half, Paris Saint-Germain were therefore trailing by one goal. And things were about to get worse, as Aleksandr Golovin, who had just come on moments earlier, took advantage of a loose ball in the penalty area to double AS Monaco’s lead. The Russian international could even have scored a second goal two minutes later if his compatriot Matvey Safonov had not produced a superb save (57’). Even with their backs against the wall, the Rouge et Bleu could rely on a united Parc des Princes crowd behind their team.
The introductions of Lee Kang-in, Senny Mayulu, and Ousmane Dembélé brought fresh energy to Paris’ attacking play, but Luis Enrique’s men struggled with the final touch. That changed in the 71st minute when Bradley Barcola struck a shot which was deflected into the back of the net and gave Les Parisiens hope again (1–2, 71’)! However, the hope was short-lived, as Folarin Balogun also benefited from a shot deflected by the Paris defence to beat Matvey Safonov and restore his side’s two-goal lead (1–3, 73’).
Despite several attempts from Ousmane Dembélé (79’, 80’), Gonçalo Ramos (79’, 84’), Nuno Mendes (84’) and even Vitinha (85’), Paris Saint-Germain were unable to get back into the game and had to concede defeat at the Parc des Princes for the first time in the league this season. It was a result well below Parisian ambitions, but it will not prevent Luis Enrique’s men from finishing the matchday at the top of Ligue 1, regardless of the outcome of RC Lens’s game against FC Metz on Sunday. Now the Rouge et Bleu must prepare for another competition, with the upcoming home match against Chelsea FC in the first leg of the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League next Wednesday at the Parc (21:00).
