“A defeat without being outclassed. Despite a courageous performance against the defending champions, AS Monaco were beaten in the first leg of the Champions League playoff against Paris Saint-Germain. The opening match of these playoffs took place at the Stade Louis-II in the presence of President Dmitry Rybolovlev.Match report.✍️

The context 📅

The Red and Whites began this first-leg Champions League playoff as underdogs against the defending champions. They had managed to beat the Parisians earlier in the Ligue 1 McDonald’s season, here in the Principality (1-0). The club from the Rock had also previously held l’OM in the first leg of the 1998–1999 UEFA Cup Round-of-16 1998-1999, during its only other European encounter against a fellow French side before tonight.
They are the defending champions, and they want to retain the trophy. The reality is that we have the role of underdogs - we must accept it as such and do everything we can to give ourselves the best chance of qualification. They have a lot of individual quality, and the collective strength is there as well. They performed well last season, and they are still performing.

Sébastien Pocognoli

The lineup 👥

For the first leg against PSG, Sébastien Pocognoli opted to stick with the same starting XI that secured league victory against Nantes (3-1). The only exception was Thilo Kehrer, who was unavailable and replaced in central defence by Jordan Teze. The two Monaco winter signings, Wout Faes and Simon Adingra, feature from the outset.

The scenario 🎞

The evening gets off to a perfect start in a packed Stade Louis-II, as after just 55 seconds, AS Monaco open the scoring through Folarin Balogun who heads home a pinpoint cross from Aleksandr Golovin (1', 1-0)! It was the American’s fourth goal this season in the Champions League… and soon to be followed by a fifth. After a superb through ball from Maghnes Akliouche, Balo slots the ball past Safonov to make it 2–0 (18')!

Balo scores twice, Köhn to the rescue

The Monaco stadium erupts with joy and comes alive again. In a frantic start to the match, the referee awarded a penalty in favour of Paris Saint-Germain. But Vitinha’s shot is stopped by Philipp Köhn (22')! A top-class save from the Red and White goalkeeper, who unfortunately conceded around the half-hour mark to a curling effort from Désiré Doué, who had come on to replace Ousmane Dembélé (2–1, 29').

An unfortunate equaliser

The pace of the game then drops, despite two attempts from Simon Adingra (32', 40'). The Parisians take advantage of this to catch the hosts off guard with a shot from the French winger that is parried by Köhn, allowing Achraf Hakimi to follow up and score (2–2, 41'). It's back to square one, and the half time whistle blows with the sides level, despite two late chances for Kvaratskhelia (45th') and João Neves from a free kick (45+3').

An early red card that proves costly

The second half starts with a major tipping point, as “Golo” is sent off following a VAR review for a studs-up challenge on Vitinha (48'). Sébastien Pocognoli’s men then show great solidity to withstand the many Parisian chances from Kvaratskhelia (56'), Zaïre-Emery (62') and João Neves (66'). However, they can do nothing against the speed of execution from Désiré Doué, who makes it 2–3 (67').

Marquinhos’ handball goes unpunished

The goal was hard to take, especially as shortly afterwards, a clear handball by Marquinhos in the box from a corner is not penalised (69'). Denis Zakaria and his teammates continue to fight to get back into the game, but the Monaco captain’s curling shot is tipped away by Safonov (68'). The match becomes physically draining, and they then have to repel further attacks from Lee Kang-In (78', 83') and Barcola (81').



The game ends after a superb Philipp Köhn stop to deny the South Korean (94') and keep all hopes of qualification alive ahead of the return leg next Wednesday at the Parc des Princes (21:00).

The highlights 🎥

1': Golovin’s cross finds Balogun, who heads in (1–0)
13': Snap shot from Kvaratskhelia deflected by Faes
15': João Neves’ curling effort goes over the bar18': Through ball from Akliouche to Balogun, who beats Safonov (2–0)
22': Vitinha’s penalty saved by Köhn29': Doué collects the ball in the box and curls it home (2–1)
32': Adingra’s shot caught by Safonov
36': Kvaratskhelia’s attempt goes wide
40': Adingra’s shot flies over the goal41': Köhn saves Doué’s shot, but Hakimi follows up to score (2–2)
43': Powerful shot from Adingra off target
45e': Kvaratskhelia surges forward and hits the near post
45+3': João Neves’ free kick denied by Köhn
48': Golovin sent off after VAR review for studs-up challenge
56': Kvaratskhelia’s attempt deflected by Camara
62': Zaïre-Emery’s shot misses the Monaco goal
66': João Neves heads a cross from Doué67': Zaïre-Emery sets up Doué, who scores at the near post (2–3)
68': Powerful shot from Zakaria saved by Safonov
78': Lee Kang-In’s shot blocked by Faes
81': Köhn denies Barcola following a deep run
83': Lee Kang-In’s curling shot goes wide
88': Vitinha’s speculative attempt flies over the Monaco goal
94': Köhn saves a snap shot from Lee Kang-In

The stat 📊

After just 55 seconds of play, Folarin Balogun scored AS Monaco’s fastest goal in major European competition, as well as the earliest goal conceded by Paris Saint-Germain on the continent. Additionally, PSG have now conceded two goals within the first 20 minutes of a Champions League match for only the second time, the first coming on 22nd October 1997 against Bayern Munich (2–5 final score).

🗓️ Match sheet:

Wednesday 17th March 2026 (21:00) - Stade Louis-II
🇪🇺 Champions League - First leg playoff: AS Monaco 2-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Half time: 2-2
Goals: Balogun (1', 18')  for AS Monaco; Doué (29', 67') and Hakimi (41e) for PSG
Yellow cards: Faes (21') and Golovin (46') for AS Monaco
Red cards: Golovin (48')
AS Monaco : Köhn - Teze, Zakaria ©, Faes - Vanderson (Bamba, 70'), Camara, Golovin, C.Henrique - Akliouche (Diatta, 58'), Adingra (Coulibaly, 70') - Balogun (Biereth, 83')
Substitutes: Lienard, Stawiecki, Diatta, Nibombé, Bamba, Coulibaly, Idumbo, Touré, Biereth
Coach: Sébastien Pocognoli
Paris Saint-Germain : Safonov - Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes - Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha, João Neves - Kvaratskhelia (Lee Kang-In, 69'), Dembélé (Doué, 27'), Barcola (Ramos, 81')
Substitutes: Chevalier, Marin, Beraldo, Hernandez, Zabarnyi, Dro, Lee Kang-In, Doué, Mbaye, Ramos
Coach: Luis Enrique

See also