Monaco secured a 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Friday, with US national team star Folarin Balogun among the scorers. The result deals a blow to PSG before their Champions League last-16 matchup against Chelsea. Bradley Barcola scored PSG's lone goal in the Ligue 1 clash.
Monaco took the lead in the first half when Maghnes Akliouche scored just before the 30-minute mark, capitalizing on a mistake by PSG's Warren Zaire-Emery inside his own box. Aleksandr Golovin doubled the advantage early in the second half on the 55th minute, finishing clinically after coming on as a substitute. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for PSG on the 71st minute, assisted by Achraf Hakimi and deflecting off Jordan Teze to beat Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Koehn.
However, Folarin Balogun restored Monaco's two-goal lead shortly after, with his shot from outside the area deflecting off Nuno Mendes for his 13th goal of the season across all competitions. This marks Balogun's fifth goal in his last five games. The win avenges Monaco's 5-4 aggregate defeat to PSG in the Champions League knockout play-offs last month, where they lost 3-2 in the first leg and drew 2-2 in the return.
PSG manager Luis Enrique acknowledged the setback, stating, "It is not the best result going into the Champions League. We are aware of that." He added, "When you play like that against a team in a very positive dynamic like Monaco, you pay for it." The loss is PSG's fourth in 25 Ligue 1 games this season, matching their defeats from the previous two seasons combined. They have now suffered seven losses across all competitions in 2025/26, including four this calendar year.
A positive note for PSG was the return of Ousmane Dembele from injury, who came off the bench in the second half, though he has started only 14 of their 40 games this season. Monaco, now fifth in the table, have won five and drawn two of their last seven Ligue 1 matches. Coach Sebastien Pocognoli said, "I am proud of the team. We feel there is a really positive momentum building."
The result narrows PSG's lead at the top of Ligue 1 to potentially one point, as closest challengers Lens face bottom side Metz on Sunday. PSG, reigning European champions after winning the Champions League last season, will host Chelsea in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday, with the return on March 17. They previously lost 3-0 to Chelsea in last year's Club World Cup final.
