Five-star PSG beat Monaco ahead of match against Newcastle
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The reigning French champions defeated Monaco 5-2 in Ligue 1 on Friday, with Ousmane Dembele scoring his first goal for Paris Saint-Germain and cementing their lead at the top of the table.
Gonzalo Ramos gave PSG an early lead, but soon after home goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s roar allowed Takumi Minamino to equalize.
However, Kylian Mbappe’s penalty against his former club gave PSG back the lead, and Dembele and Vicinha finished off the game with two superb goals in the space of three minutes.
Monaco’s Folarin Balogun added another goal, but substitute Randal Kolo Muani sealed the victory for PSG in stoppage time.
Paris have won seven and drawn one of their last eight Ligue 1 games, leaving them four points behind second-placed Nice, who play Sunday. Monaco remain in third place, but six points behind the leaders.
“The most important thing was the attitude of the players after the international break,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said.
“I trained for an hour a day to prepare for this match.”
The result was achieved despite the absence of captain Marquinhos and teenage midfield genius Warren Zaire-Emery through injury, ahead of a crucial Champions League home game against Newcastle United. It was a boost for Luis Enrique’s team.
The Qatari-backed side could be at real risk of being eliminated from competition with Europe’s elite clubs in the group stages if they fail to win Tuesday’s match.
Coach Luis Enrique added: “Monaco is a team at the same level as us and they are aiming to win the league, so this is a good result.”
“We have an important game against Newcastle and the best way to do that is to win and if we can do that then even better.”
With Marquinhos and Zair Emery injured in international matches, PSG’s left-back Nordi Mukiele and central midfielder Fabian Ruiz were notable starters.
Portuguese striker Ramos, who was used as a centre-forward over Kolo Muani, opened the scoring in the 18th minute, diving in after goalkeeper Philippe Kane spilled Dembele’s shot.
Monaco had earlier missed a great chance to take the lead when unmarked Sungoutu Magassa failed to beat Donnarumma with a header from close range.
Donnarumma Howler
On the Principality side, Vanderson’s goal was ruled out for offside, but in the middle of the first half, Donnarumma attempted to clear a shot that went straight to Minamino, and the Japanese player jumped on and scored, giving them the equalizer. Ta.
Still, the Parisians pulled back six minutes before the interval as Magassa caught Dembélé in the box, and Mbappé converted the resulting penalty for his 14th goal in 12 Ligue 1 games this season. I decided.
Donnarumma made up for his earlier mistake with a fine save from Minamino and went into half-time with PSG in the lead, scoring two goals in quick succession in the second half to eliminate any doubts about the result.
In the 70th minute, Dembele showed great agility as he quickly controlled a free-kick sent over the top by Luiz, making his way into the box and finishing the ball past Kane.
It was his first goal in 16 appearances since joining PSG from Barcelona in August.
Two minutes later, Portugal’s midfielder Vicinha controlled a pass from Mbappe on the left flank and fired a wonderful shot into the top corner, making it four points.
Monaco quickly got one back, as Minamino sent a through ball to American striker Balogun, who got past Donnarumma and scored, but in the 6th minute, Guillermo Maripan’s clearance error spilled over to Kolo Muani, who scored a goal. I conceded and conceded again.
The defeat ended Monaco’s hopes of challenging for the title, with the club currently having just one win in four games.
“It’s easy to analyze this game today.” Monaco coach Adi Hütter said: “We conceded four goals, but they were our own goals. That’s too many at this level.”
“PSG are a top team. We made too many mistakes when we wanted to be first or even in the top three in France.”
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Source: guardian.ng