A Kylian Mbappé first-half double was enough to see off a dispirited AS Monaco side, as Nico Kovac’s men succumbed to their first defeat in nine matches on Sunday.
Over 1,000 AS Monaco fans made the long journey to the French capital and they almost witnessed the Principality side take an early lead against the team at the top of the league. Sofiane Diop did well to dispossess Marco Verratti in a dangerous area, he then combined with Wissam Ben Yedder, who laid the all back to the French U21 international, but his strike struck the inside of the post and came out.
Monaco, with an intense press in the early stages, controlled the match, but were undone by a sloppy piece of defending from Djibril Sidibé, who brought down Angel Di Maria in the Monaco box.
It was Mbappé, who departed Monaco for PSG in 2018, who stepped up and blasted the ball past Aleksandr Nübel in the Monaco goal. Despite falling behind, Monaco continued to dominate proceedings. Guillermo Maripán had a glaring opportunity from five yards out, but he couldn’t sort out his feet to get a shot away.
The suckerpunch, from which Monaco never recovered, came on the stroke of half-time, and it was once again an individual error which presented the opportunity. Youssouf Fofana this time played an inaccurate pass in a dangerous area, which was gratefully gathered by Lionel Messi. The Argentinian then ran at the retreating ASM defence, before laying it to Mbappé, who slotted home masterfully for his second on the night.
The ex-Monaco striker celebrated in-front of the fans that used to chant his name, something he revealed he didn’t regret doing in a post-match interview. “I had incredible moments at that club (Monaco), I grew up down there.  I have great memories, but the page has turned and I play for PSG now. I’m very happy, and I give everything for the club.”
The second goal took the wind out of Monaco’s sails, and they returned a dispirited and lacklustre side in the second half. Aleksandr Golovin tried his luck from range on multiple occasions, but the Principality side never truly threatened Gianluigi Donnarumma in the PSG goal.

The scoreline could have been more emphatic for PSG, but a slightly out of sorts Messi couldn’t convert any of his two major chances, one of which skimmed the post on its way wide.
Post-match, Kovac bemoaned Monaco’s lack of cutting-edge, telling reporters, “In the first-half we were the best team on the pitch, but when you have periods of domination against this team, you have to score.” The Croat added, “If you want to get a result here, you have to show a strong sense of willpower for 90 minutes, because you are playing against world-class players.
Kovac’s men face another trip to Paris next Sunday as they come up against minnows Red Star in the French Cup. The national league side enjoy their title as giant-killers in the competition, and Monaco will likely require a more spirited performance to avoid becoming their next victim.
 
 
Photo source: AS Monaco