Monaco – Paris Saint-Germain: PSG Complete Comeback In All French Affair In the Champions League Playoffs (2-3)

PSG beat Monaco 3-2 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League playoffs. A brace from Folarin Balogun giving Monaco a 2-0 lead was cancelled out by a brace by Desire Doue off the bench while Hakimi scored the equaliser sandwiched between Doue’s goals. Monaco’s hopes were dented when Aleksandr Golovin was sent off for a red card as PSG completed the comeback to win 3-2.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

It hasn’t been straightforward for defending Champions League winners PSG this season. PSG were navigating a season of dominance domestically but have been affected by recent stumbles. A shock 3-1 defeat to Rennes, saw them displaced from the top spot in Ligue 1 by Lens. The loss, their sixth of the season, prompted public frustration from star forward Ousmane Dembele, who publicly questioned the team's attitude.

Prior to that, PSG's form was imperious & high scoring. A 5-0 thrashing of Marseille domestically and a 7-2 destruction of Leverkusen and a 5-3 win over Tottenham in the UCL league phase, saw consistent high-scoring performances. But in Europe, despite expectations of direct last-16 qualification, they found themselves in the play-offs due to a couple of draws against Athletic Club and Newcastle.

Comparatively, PSG’s opponents on the night, Monaco find themselves languishing in 8th place in Ligue 1. Their form had been inconsistent, marked by an inability to string together wins, with only sporadic flashes of brilliance & patchy results. This patchiness stemmed from defensive vulnerabilities and over-reliance on individual moments from players like . . .