Paris Saint-Germain are on course to reach the Champions League round of 16. The defending champions ran into trouble early away at AS Monaco on Wednesday, but recovered and left the Stade Louis II with a narrow victory.
Paris Saint-Germain took a significant step toward the Champions League round of 16 with a dramatic 2-3 win away to AS Monaco, overturning a nightmare opening spell and surviving a tense finish to leave Stade Louis II with a narrow advantage ahead of the return leg in Paris.
The evening could hardly have started worse for the visitors. Monaco began with pace, aggression and real belief, and they were rewarded almost immediately when Folarin Balogun struck to put the hosts in front. PSG were caught cold at the back, with Nuno Mendes losing the run of the American forward, and Monaco punished the lapse with clinical finishing. The home side kept pushing and quickly realised PSG were vulnerable when dragged into recovery sprints, so they continued to attack the space in behind rather than slowing the game down.
Around 15 minutes later, Monaco doubled their lead, again through Balogun, who proved too sharp and too strong in the key duel. Marquinhos was unable to halt him, and the Stade Louis II crowd sensed a famous night might be on the cards. With PSG already rattled, the situation worsened when Vitinha missed a penalty, with Philipp Köhn producing a save that further lifted Monaco and deepened PSG frustration. Moments later, PSG suffered another blow when Ousmane Dembélé was forced off injured, adding to the sense that everything was going wrong for the defending champions.
But PSG response was immediate and, in the context of the match, decisive. The player who changed the mood was Désiré Doué, introduced as Dembélé replacement. Rather than simply filling a role, Doué grabbed the game, carried PSG forward and injected urgency into their attacking play. His impact was rewarded with the goal that brought PSG back into the contest, a strike that shifted momentum and forced Monaco to defend deeper than they wanted.
PSG then built on that momentum before half-time. Doué continued to be at the centre of everything good the visitors produced, and one of his key contributions was setting up Achraf Hakimi for the equaliser. Suddenly, what looked like a disastrous night had become a level contest again, and Monaco had the uncomfortable feeling that the match had slipped from their control.
The turning point came shortly after the break, when Monaco were reduced to 10 men. Aleksandr Golovin was shown a red card after stepping over the ball and coming down on Vitinha leg. Referee Jesús Gil Manzano initially allowed play to continue, but after consulting the images, he produced the red, leaving Monaco with a huge problem for the remainder of the match and changing the balance of the tie.
With the extra man, PSG took control of possession and territory, circulating the ball faster and pinning Monaco back. The visitors forced Monaco into a defensive shape, waited for gaps to appear and then increased the tempo in the final third. It was Doué again who delivered the decisive moment. Midway through the second half, he scored his second goal of the night to complete the turnaround and put PSG in front, underlining why he is increasingly seen as a player made for the biggest European nights.
From that point, PSG looked capable of pulling further clear. They pushed for a fourth goal, created promising situations and threatened to kill the tie off, but Monaco hung on and made sure the margin stayed tight. Even with 10 men, the home side defended with determination, tried to slow PSG rhythm where possible and looked for chances to break or to exploit set pieces, ensuring PSG could not fully relax.
In the end, PSG left with a 2-3 win that feels significant not just because of the scoreline, but because of the way it was achieved: a comeback from 2-0 down, a penalty miss, an injury setback, and then the composure to take advantage of Monaco red card. For Monaco, the match will feel like a missed opportunity, but the tie remains alive precisely because the deficit is only one goal.
The return leg takes place next Wednesday at Parc des Princes, with kick-off at 21:00. PSG will know they are in a strong position, but also that Monaco have already shown they can hurt them, especially if the visitors find early momentum again.
