Champions League: down to 10 men, AS Monaco falls to PSG but keeps qualification hopes alive
© AS Monaco
The very first confrontation between AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain on the European scene lived up to all the hype. After an excellent opening to the match by the Monegasques, the Parisians overthrew their opponents of the evening by playing with a numerical superiority.
It had all started so well. Under the eyes of president Dmitry Rybolovlev, Sébastien Pocognoli’s team roared out of the blocks as Folarin Balogun bagged a quickfire double. But the reigning European champions eventually equalised before the break and then made the difference after the dismissal of Aleksandr Golovin (2-3) thanks to a masterful Désiré Doué. Despite conceding many opportunities, a determined Monaco fought hard and kept hope alive for the return clash at the Parc des Princes next week.
AS Monaco off to a great start
It was not worth arriving late at the Stade Louis-II. After just 55 seconds, Golovin delivered a cross to Balogun, left unmarked in the box, and the striker headed past Matvey Safonov (1’, 1-0). It was the fastest goal ever scored by Monaco in European competition, and the earliest PSG had ever conceded on the continental stage.
After allowing the Parisians to control possession for the next 15 minutes, Monaco struck with precision on the counterattack. A classy through ball from Maghnes Akliouche released Balogun, who set up Marquinhos before beating Safonov once again (18′, 2–0). They were his fourth and fifth goals in the Champions League this season.
Everything seemed to smile on the Monegasques. But, after an error of judgement, Wout Faes committed a foul in his box on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and conceded a penalty (22′). Philipp Köhn then pulled out all the stops and remarkably saved Vitinha’s penalty to maintain Monaco’s ascendancy.
Turning point
A doubt at kick-off, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé was forced to make way for Désiré Doué (27′). The French international single-handedly changed the face of the game. Following a superb pass from Bradley Barcola, Doué perfectly struck his shot, which hit the post before going into the goal (29′, 2-1).
The Parisians continued to press deep into Monaco’s half. After another effort from Doué was kept out by Köhn, Achraf Hakimi took advantage of Caio Henrique’s hesitation to level the score (41′, 2–2). Without losing their composure, PSG had erased the deficit in just twelve minutes.
The teams went into the break all square, despite serious attempts from Kvaratskhelia and João Neves at the end of the first half.
Golovin, a costly dismissal
The first half had begun brilliantly for ASM, but the second could not have started in worse fashion. Already sent off a few days earlier in the league against FC Nantes, Golovin was shown a red card following a VAR review for a foul on Vitinha (48′). Monaco were therefore forced to play the rest of the second half with 10 men.
To reorganise his team, Pocognoli replaced Akliouche with Krépin Diatta (58′). The Monegasques faced the onslaught of Kvaratskhelia (56′), Warren Zaïre-Emery (62′) and Neves (66′). But they ended up giving in to the speed of execution of Doué, who was played in by Zaïre-Emery after a very good team move (67′, 3-2).
In the aftermath, captain Denis Zakaria had a chance, but Safonov saved with his fingertips (68′). On the corner that followed, a handball by Marquinhos in the box was not sanctioned by the referee nor signalled by the VAR. A double situation that could have allowed Monaco to equalise.
The end of the match saw a siege on Köhn’s goal, with Lee Kang-In (78′, 83′) and Barcola (81′) threatening, but the imperious Swiss goalkeeper was again decisive in the 94th minute on a sudden shot from the South Korean.
Pocognoli: “For me, there is a hand of Marquinhos”
In the press conference, Pocognoli showed frustration tinged with hope. On the sending off of Golovin, the Belgian manager did not mince his words, asserting: “I am frustrated. We can’t afford to put ourselves in this kind of situation with 10 against 11.”
The coach then highlighted the positives. “When you play against a team that has 75% possession, it’s difficult to have freshness. What I remember as positive is the quality of our two goals in the first half and the way we defended with 10 men in the second half,” stated Pocognoli.
On Marquinhos’ unwhistled handball, Pocognoli was clear, explaining: “For me, in a very objective way, there is a handball. It’s whistleworthy, that’s for sure.” The ASM boss gathered his players on the pitch as soon as the final whistle blew and wanted to put an end to the negativity. “I didn’t want the first thought to be negative. We have to keep everyone together and positive, because we have the ambition to create another good evening at the Parc des Princes,” he insisted.
Go again
While they fell to a 3–2 defeat, Monaco once again delivered a spirited and united defensive display. Pocognoli’s team will now need to claim victory at the Parc des Princes next Wednesday to have any chance of qualifying. It’s a daunting task, particularly without the suspended Golovin, but not an impossible one for a side that has already proved it can trouble the reigning European champions.