After having been defeated 2-3 on 17th February, Wednesday’s match at the Parc des Princes stripped Monaco’s team of any hopes for the Champions League, with a 2-2 draw against Paris Saint-Germain.
While the first half of the game seemed promising for the Monaco side, with the first goal of the match scored right before the break, things went downhill for Sébastien Pocognoli’s players in the second half.
Coulibaly, despite his overall impressive performance, received two yellow cards in a matter of minutes (55′, 58′), resulting in an automatic red card and leaving Monaco down to 10 men, right before Marquinhos of PSG balanced the score with a free kick to 1-1.
Just a couple of minutes later, Monaco’s remaining hopes turned to dust with Kvaratskhelia’s second goal for PSG.
And yet, Monaco refused to go quietly. Jordan Teze pulled the score back to 2-2 in extra time, briefly reigniting hopes of a miraculous turnaround.
However, a final free kick from Lamine Camara saw Wout Faes narrowly miss a header that could have changed everything.
The final whistle confirmed the inevitable: elimination, but not without a fight.
The team’s reactions
Speaking after the match, scorer Maghnes Akliouche – who celebrated his 24th birthday with the opening goal – acknowledged the bitter feeling of a near miss. “There is necessarily disappointment and frustration because we had the ability to snatch this qualification,” he said, pointing to the red cards across both legs as the decisive factor. “We played almost 90 minutes down to ten men.”
Scorer Jordan Teze struck a more defiant note, already looking ahead to the two sides’ upcoming Ligue 1 clash. “The general feeling is sadness, but we showed everyone that we were able to win,” he said. “PSG knows it wasn’t a simple qualification.”
Coach Sébastien Pocognoli mixed pride and frustration is his post-match assessment. In fact, he didn’t shy away from expressing anger at the officiating either, questioning the decision to send off Coulibaly as harsh and inconsistently applied. “For me it’s double standards, and it happens too often this year with AS Monaco,” he said.
However, despite the disappointment, Pocognoli was keen to draw positives. “We come out of this Champions League with honours,” he said.
Monaco’s next fixture is a Ligue 1 home game against Angers on Saturday, before facing PSG once more the following week – this time in the league
Stay updated with Monaco Life: sign up for our free newsletter, catch our podcast on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok.
Main photo credit: AS Monaco