Paris Saint-Germain overturned a two-goal deficit to secure a 3-2 victory over Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off tie at Stade Louis II. Substitute Désiré Doué scored twice to inspire the comeback for the holders, while Monaco's Folarin Balogun netted a quick brace early on. The result leaves the tie poised ahead of the second leg in Paris on February 25.
The match began explosively for Monaco, who took the lead after just 55 seconds when Folarin Balogun headed home Aleksandr Golovin's cross following a counter-attack sparked by Nuno Mendes' dispossession. Balogun doubled the advantage in the 18th minute, racing onto Maghnes Akliouche's pass to slot past Matvey Safonov for his 10th goal of the season.
Paris Saint-Germain were handed a chance to respond in the 22nd minute after Wout Faes fouled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the box, but Vitinha's penalty was saved by Philipp Kohn. Luis Enrique substituted Ousmane Dembélé with Désiré Doué in the 27th minute, and the 20-year-old forward immediately made an impact by drilling in from a tight angle two minutes later to halve the deficit.
Achraf Hakimi leveled the score just before half-time in the 41st minute, volleying home the rebound after Kohn parried Doué's shot. The second half saw Monaco reduced to 10 men three minutes after the break when Golovin received a straight red card for a high challenge on Vitinha, upgraded following a VAR review.
PSG completed the turnaround in the 67th minute as Warren Zaïre-Emery set up Doué for his second goal, making him the first PSG substitute to score a brace in a Champions League knockout match since 2019. Despite late chances, including saves by Kohn from Bradley Barcola and others, the scoreline stood at 3-2.
This marked the first European meeting between the Ligue 1 rivals, with PSG, the defending champions, forced into the play-off after finishing outside the top eight in the league phase. Monaco, eighth in Ligue 1, had previously beaten PSG 1-0 in a domestic fixture in November.
