PARIS — US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as Monaco won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain yesterday, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch Champions League last-16 tie.
Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the Ligue 1 clash.
Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious win in their quest to qualify for Europe next season.
The principality side were seeking revenge after a 5-4 aggregate defeat by PSG in the Champions League knockout phase play-offs last month, when they squandered a two-goal lead before losing 3-2 in the first leg and came up short with a 2-2 draw in the return.
That result allowed Luis Enrique’s side to reach the last 16 and they will now put their title on the line against Chelsea, with the first leg in Paris on Wednesday and the return on March 17.
That will be a season-defining tie for PSG, who won the Champions League for the first time last season, before losing 3-0 to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final.
“It is not the best result going into the Champions League. We are aware of that,” said Luis Enrique.
“When you play like that against a team in a very positive dynamic like Monaco, you pay for it.”
The result is a setback for PSG in their bid to win a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title, with closest challengers Lens now able to trim their lead at the top from four points to one by beating bottom side Metz on Sunday.
This was PSG’s fourth league loss in 25 games this season, as many defeats as in the last two seasons combined.
They have now been beaten seven times in all competitions in 2025/26, and four times this calendar year.
Luis Enrique will be concerned at how far away his team are from the remarkable form they showed in the second half of last season on their way to winning the Champions League.
“We are clearly in difficulty at the moment but we need to maintain hope that will change,” he added. “Confidence is not just something you buy at the supermarket.”
