Despite a disappointing start to the second half, rallied to secure a 4-2 victory against Monaco this Wednesday. The capital club now holds a 10-point lead over its nearest rivals at the top of the standings.
The Parisians got off to a strong start, with Hakimi almost opening the scoring in the 4th minute with a shot-cross that caught Köhn by surprise. Fortunately for the Monaco keeper, he managed to deflect Hakimi’s effort off his near post… Although dominated, the Monégasques still managed to create some dangerous situations on the counter-attack. The ASM responded with a shot from Ben Seghir, which was saved by Donnarumma. The Parisian goalkeeper was called into action again a few minutes later when he faced off against Singo.
That was the last involvement of the evening for the Italian, who took a boot to the face from the Monaco defender during that play and was forced to leave the pitch with a significant scar. Referee Mr. Letexier didn’t even blow for a foul! And since VAR did not intervene… This incident, which required several minutes of stoppage to treat Donnarumma, did not disrupt the Parisians. On the contrary, it was the Monégasques who struggled to restart the match after the delay. Perfectly set up on the right side, Hakimi capitalized on the passive Monaco defense to assist Doué (0-1, 24th minute), who scored his second goal in three games. This was enough for PSG to go into halftime with a lead on the scoreboard, which could have been greater had Köhn not made three crucial saves before the break.
PSG did not sink after conceding two quick goals early in the second half. On the contrary, Dembélé reignited his team’s hopes by capitalizing on a shot from Ruiz that was saved by Köhn (2-2, 64th minute). Then, Ramos, barely on the pitch, put the Parisians back in front with a header from a corner (2-3, 83rd minute), and Dembélé sealed the win with a late goal, completing his brace deep into stoppage time (2-4, 90+6 minutes). Paris is soaring at the top of the standings!
After the break, Monaco returned to the pitch with much better intentions. Adi Hütter’s team pushed higher, was far more inspired in their use of the ball, and earned a penalty for a handball by Marquinhos, who had made a poor clearance. Ben Seghir took responsibility for the penalty, leveling the score for both teams (1-1, 54th minute). Gaining confidence from this equalizer, the Principality club pushed forward and took the lead with a cross from Akliouche that was converted by Embolo at the near post (2-1, 60th minute).