AS Monaco threw away a two-goal lead against Paris Saint-Germain, who seized the upper hand in the Champions League play-off with a win at the Stade Louis II on Tuesday night (2-3).

At the 27-minute mark, Monaco were in the driving seat. Two goals up thanks to a brace from Folarin Balogun, lady luck was shining on the Principality club, too, with Philipp Kohn saving a penalty from Vitinha, and Ousmane Dembélé, named the best player in the world back in September, forced off with an injury. So for Sébastien Pocognoli to say that Monaco can “consider [themselves] lucky to have defended so well in the second half to be just one goal behind, leaving [them] with lots of ambition” for the return leg is a sign of how dramatically this game switched on its head.

As it would transpire, Dembélé’s exit in the 27th minute would prove to be a blessing in disguise for PSG, the reigning European champions. It was his replacement, Désiré Doué, who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and helped PSG seize control of the tie. He needed only two minutes to get his first, driving a left-footed shot off the inside of Philipp Kohn’s post.

Golovin handicaps his Monaco teammates once again

He had a hand in the second, too. His curled effort was well-saved by Kohn but palmed straight into the path of Achraf Hakimi, who accepted the invitation to level the scores. Forget a game of two halves, it was a half of two halves. “We know that if PSG accelerate, the danger will come,” said Pocognoli. His players found that out the hard way. Les Monégasques would have gone in at half-time deflated to let their advantage slip, but the situation would worsen upon the return from the dressing room.

Aleksandr Golovin would quickly be back in said dressing room, given his marching orders for raking his foot down the shin of Vitinha just seconds into the second half. It was Balogun who had netted within 60 seconds of the start of the game and who gave Monaco such hope, and a red card within 60 seconds of the second that left them on the back foot and clinging on. “I am frustrated,” admitted Pocognoli post-match. It wasn’t a rousing defence of his player, but Golovin arguably didn’t deserve such treatment. It is the second time in the space of a matter of days that the Russian international has been sent off, after he suffered a similar fate against FC Nantes on Friday. His red against PSG makes him the most red-carded player for Monaco in the 21st century (six).

And whilst Golovin’s red didn’t prove costly for Monaco against Nantes, with Pocognoli’s men seeing out the 3-1 win without him, it did on Tuesday. PSG dominated the ball throughout, but the numerical disadvantage allowed the visitors to assert greater territorial dominance, and it told just after the hour mark when Doué netted his second of the night from the edge of the box.

Pocognoli bemoans penalty decision

“This week, everyone has criticised and killed Doué. He was sensational. He showed his personality. He helped the team at the best time,” said his manager, Luis Enrique. The young Frenchman has not been at his electric best in recent weeks, but benched, he had the aura of a man with a point to prove, and he did so emphatically.

Thereafter, it became a question of damage limitation, and the damage was limited. Monaco claimed a penalty when the ball struck the arm of Marquinhos, and Pocognoli believes that it should have been awarded, but the hosts were grateful to be just one goal down heading to the Parc des Princes for the return leg, and grateful specifically to Kohn, who saved a late Bradley Barcola shot.

“It allows us to have a return leg with everything to play for,” said Pocognoli. The hope of qualification remains alive, but instead of heading up to Paris next week with a lead to protect, they do so with a deficit to overcome. Chasing the game, Monaco will be the underdog, just as, admittedly, they always were.

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Photo source: AS Monaco