PSG 1-3 Monaco: Paris Saint-Germain slump to defeat against Monaco

Paris Saint-Germain are taking on AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes in the opener of Matchday 25 of Ligue 1 McDonald's. It will be the fourth clash between the two sides this season. The last two matchups saw Paris manage a 3-2 away win in the first-leg of their Champions League Play-off tie, before a 2-2 home draw to secure a Round of 16 draw, following a 5-4 aggregate win.

The European Champions will therefore face Premier League side Chelsea in the next round of the competition, in the toughest side of the knockout table.

However, for this upcoming clash against Monaco, Luis Enrique has seen the returns of Senny Mayulu and 2025 Ballon d'Or Ousmane Dembélé in the group as they recovered from injuries. Unfortunately, the Spaniard will still be unable to count on Joao Neves, Quentin Ndjantou and Fabian Ruiz once again. The former Napoli player has missed several weeks and is not expected to comeback in time for the clashes against Chelsea.

Paris Saint-Germain's starting XI: Safonov; Zabarnyi, Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Hakimi; Warren Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Dro Fernandez; Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué, Barcola.

AS Monaco's starting XI: Kohn; Kehrer, Faes, Zakaria, Caio Henrique, Vanderson; Camara, Bamba, Coulibaly, Akliouche; Balogun.

Paris fall against Monaco ahead of Champions League

The first big chance came from Monaco in the opening five minutes of the game but Dennis Zakaria's close range header could not find the target. Shortly after, PSG responded through Achraf Hakimi following a superb collective move between the Moroccan and Bradley Barcola, but his effort was saved by Kohn.

The first 20 minutes were very entertaining with both sides creating chances, however, Paris took control of the game putting Monaco on the back foot as they applied constant pressure on the visitors' defence. However, a massive mistake from Warren Zaire-Emery gifted the opening goal to Akliouche and Monaco against the run of play (27').

Despite their domination on the ball throughout the first half, Monaco held a one-goal lead at the break. The visitors made the most of their opportunities while remaining solid at the back despite Paris' many chances.

Less than 10 min into the second half, substitute Golovin doubled Monaco's lead from close range (55'). Golovin came close to score his second goal of the night, but his long range strike was superbly denied by Safonov.

Looking to come back into the game, Luis Enrique made three substitutions with Dembélé, Mayulu and Lee replacing Doué, Kvaratskhelia and Dro. The changes proved fruitful as Bradley Barcola reduced their deficit (71'). However, Folarin Balogun quickly restored Monaco's two-goal lead as Pacho deflected his strike past Safonov (73').

The hosts went all in offensively in the last 15 minutes of the game, leaving a lot of space in behind. Nonetheless, Paris were not able to comeback into the game and registered their first home loss of the season in Ligue 1.

Up next, Paris Saint-Germain will host Chelsea on Wednesday in the first-leg of their Champions League Round of 16.