⚽️ ⚽️ 3 Monaco - Paris Saint-Germain 2- ⚽️ ⚽️
Monaco - Paris Saint-Germain ( 3-2 )
Well, PSG had been extremely hot, but letdowns and losses are inevitable at some point.
So, after starting the season off with two losses, they had won eight straight Ligue 1 games to shoot up to first place in the standings overall. This game presented them a chance to really grab the Ligue 1 by the throat. Had they beaten Monaco, they would have taken a 10-point lead, which would have felt frankly insurmountable. That was what was at stake on Friday, when PSG traveled down to Monaco’s Stade Louis II for a showdown between two of the best team. Monaco hoped for a strong showing, to close the margin, while PSG looked to take a nearly insurmountable lead with a win.
Indeed, early on, it seemed that this was exactly what PSG was on their way to achieving. Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring in the game with a goal in the 25th minute to give PSG the early lead. Then, he followed it up with yet another goal, this one a penalty in the 37th minute, giving the Parisians a seemingly commanding 2-0 lead by halftime.
But Monaco was not done. In the 52nd minute, Kevin Volland got Monaco very much back into the game with a goal, and then, like Mbappé, he followed this up with yet another goal, this one a penalty in the 65th minute, tying the game.
This stalemate lasted for nearly 20 minutes, until Monaco’s Cesc Fabregas scored off a penlty in the 84th minute, suddenly giving Monaco the late lead. They were able to hold PSG off in the final minutes to preserve the win.
Monaco’s win now gives them 20 points in 11 games played, which is good enough for second place. They still trail PSG, who have collected 24 points in 11 games to this point in the season. The two teams are scheduled to meet again in February
As great as PSG is, they occasionally have defensive lapses like they did in the second half of that game. In Ligue 1, it's not such a big deal – they're still likely to not only win it again, but to do so by a large margin. In the Champions League, however, the cost of any drop in form is far higher, particularly in the later rounds. And that's essentially what's standing between them and being able to hoist "la coupe aux grandes oreilles" as the trophy is called due to its two large handles.
ReplyDeleteThis hasn't been a good sports weekend for me, actually: PSG lost, Reims lost, Saint-Étienne continues to be in free fall since winning their first three games, the Red Bulls lost their playoff game against Columbus (which means their season is officially over), and now – shocking surprise – Gang Green looks like they're headed for yet another defeat, this time against the Chargers. (I almost typed "San Diego", forgetting that the NFL essentially applied Ron Burgundy's on-air blooper: "Go fuck yourself, San Diego.")
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