AS Monaco were dealt a potentially decisive blow in the race for the Ligue 1 title as PSG came to the Stade Louis II and took away all three points (2-4) for the first time in almost five years.
It was an eerie atmosphere at the start of Wednesday’s encounter, the final Ligue 1 game of 2024. Unlike the other 16 clubs in the French top flight, who have all completed their league campaigns in this calendar year, Monaco and PSG were playing on – not that Les Monégasques’ fans were happy about it.
Monaco’s Ultras stage protest
This game was moved due to the scheduling of the Trophée des Champions, which will be contested between these two clubs in Doha, Qatar on 5th January 2025. The game had initially been scheduled to take place in China in the summer before those plans were ultimately foiled. Given PSG’s QSI (Qatari Sports Group) ownership, the decision to host the match in Doha has been met with hostility from Monaco’s fan base and the club’s ultras boycotted the start of this match,
They missed a dominant start from the visitors, who struck the post early on through Achraf Hakimi, whilst Bradley Barcola also forced Philipp Köhn, in for the injured Radoslaw Majecki, into a good save at his near post.
Then came the moment of controversy as Wilfried Singo, already on a yellow card, collided with Gianluigi Donnarumma after being put through on goal. The Monaco defender’s touch was heavy, allowing the PSG goalkeeper to close the angle. Singo got his shot away but the follow-through caught Donnarumma flush in the face. The goalkeeper, bloodied and bruised and requiring staples in his face, came off, Singo, however, stayed on.
Just moments later, Monaco were behind. Hakimi was once again given too much freedom as he drove into the box, cut back and found Désiré Doué, who netted his first Ligue 1 goal for his new club.
Monaco crumble after battling back
Köhn made three more big saves before the break, keeping his side in the game. Those efforts were rewarded early in the second half. Eliesse Ben Seghir tucked home a penalty after Marquinhos was adjudged to have handled inside the box and then just six minutes later, they turned the game on its head.
Maghnes Akliouche, a live-wire throughout the second half, latched onto Aleksandr Golovin’s ball over the top and put a cross to the front post that was flicked in by Breel Embolo. But the lead did not last long – just four minutes in fact.
It was a case of ball-watching as Köhn’s parried save was pounced on by Ousmane Dembélé with the Monaco defenders un-reactive to the situation. Then came the sucker punch as two substitutes, Gonçalo Ramos and Lee Kang-in, combined, the former tucking home the latter’s corner kick with an emphatic header.
Monaco threw attackers on in a desperate attempt to salvage a point. Takumi Minamino almost did so but he struggled to divert Akliouche’s ball past substitute goalkeeper Matvei Safonov.
Dwindling prospect of title challenge
There would be another goal but it would come for PSG as Dembélé beat the offside trap, held off Singo and then chipped Köhn – a moment of quality to wrap up an enthralling game.
Even before the halfway point of the season, it was a game that had the air of a finale, and in the fight for the title, it may be just that. “The question of the title would be difficult [if we lost],” said Akliouche pre-match. With Monaco now 10 points adrift, there is a mountain to climb.
“The Ligue 1 [title race] is still very open,” insists PSG manager Luis Enrique. However, with Les Monégasques having won just two of their last seven in all competitions, they will need an uptick in form in 2025 if they are to challenge PSG’s surpremacy – of the chasing pack, they still look the most likely to do so.
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Photo source: AS Monaco