So it was to Monaco that the reigning European champions, after finishing 11th in the league phase with 14 points from 8 matches, travelled to for the first leg of their double-header with ASM, who qualified after finishing 21st in the table with 4 points fewer. The objective was clear in the Principality: to secure a place in the round of 16 of the competition. As was the case last season, a Ligue 1 club stands in the way of the Parisians. After Stade Brestois 29, it is now the turn of Monaco, who beat the capital club this season in the first meeting between the two teams (1-0 on 29/11/2025, also at Louis-II, on matchday 14).
The Rouge et Blancs were quick to build on the previous result and took the lead with their first attack, when Caio Henrique played Aleksandr Golovin in on the left. The number 10 crossed to the far post for Folarin Balogun, who headed home to open the scoring (1-0, 1'). Stunned, the Parisians regained their composure, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, found in the box, saw his shot deflected over the bar (13'), with João Neves suffering the same fate from the same position moments later (15'). With their second chance of the match, Sebastien Pocognoli's team struck again thanks to Balogun, who beat Matvey Safonov after a pass from Maghnes Akliouche (2-0, 18')...
The bad luck continued and Vitinha saw his penalty, which was won by Kvaratskhelia after a foul by Wout Faes in the box, saved by Philipp Köhn (22'). Désiré Doué, who had come on two minutes earlier, managed to give his side hope. Found by Bradley Barcola in the box, the number 14 controlled the ball and fired home to reduce the deficit (2-1, 29'). The former Rennes player was also involved in the Rouge et Bleu's equaliser. On the left, he cut inside and sent in a powerful shot from 20 metres that Köhn parried. Lying in wait at the far post, Achraf Hakimi celebrated his 50th appearance for Paris in the competition with the equaliser (2-2, 41'). It was a lively first half that Kvaratskhelia came close to ending with a masterpiece, after a solo run that the Georgian finished with a shot which went just wide (45+1').
The twists and turns continued after the break, with Golovin receiving a red card for a heavy tackle on Vitinha (48'). Warren Zaïre-Emery then came close to giving the Parisian side the lead, but he was unable to reach Doué's cross (61') and shot wide from the edge of the box (62'). In fine form since coming on, Doué once again made the difference, scoring his second goal after a fine combination between Kvaratskhelia and Hakimi on the right, followed by a crucial assist from Zaïre-Emery, sending the many Parisian supporters present on the Rock into raptures (2-3, 67'). Safonov then stepped up himself with a save from Denis Zakaria (68'), while Köln was also solid following shots from Lee Kang-In (78', 90+4) and Barcola (81'), but the score remained unchanged.
The return leg is in eight days' time, on Wednesday 25th February at 9pm at the Parc des Princes! Before that, Luis Enrique and his men have another home game to contend with, against FC Metz this Saturday at 9.05pm in matchday 23 of the Ligue 1 season.
