monaco vs psg: Substitute Doué inspires PSG comeback to win 3-2
Paris Saint-Germain recovered from a disastrous start to claim a 3-2 first-leg victory over Monaco in their Champions League knockout playoff at the Stade Louis II, with 20-year-old substitute Désiré Doué scoring twice and aiding the equaliser.
Rapid Monaco start and a missed lifeline for PSG
The hosts stunned the holders inside the opening minute when Folarin Balogun met Aleksandr Golovin's cross to head home from close range, leaving Paris reeling almost immediately. Balogun doubled the advantage in the 18th minute after bursting clear and finishing clinically past goalkeeper Matvey Safonov.
PSG were handed a potential route back into the tie in the 22nd minute when Wout Faes brought down Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the area, but Vitinha's spot-kick was emphatically saved by Philipp Kohn, who dived to his right. The missed penalty left the visitors still trailing as the match swung toward a fraught night for the defending champions.
Doué's introduction flips the match and sends PSG to Paris with advantage
Ousmane Dembélé, named in the starting XI, was withdrawn midway through the first half after struggling with a knock, and Doué was introduced in his place. The switch proved decisive. Doué struck with his first meaningful contribution in the 29th minute, drilling a low shot in off the post from an acute angle to halve the deficit.
His impact intensified four minutes before half-time when a Doué effort from distance was kept out by Kohn but fell kindly to Achraf Hakimi, who reacted quickest to slot home a half-volley and make it 2-2 — PSG's first Champions League goal of the season for the right back.
The second half saw a turning point for Monaco when Aleksandr Golovin was shown a yellow card seconds after the restart for a dangerous challenge on Vitinha; the referee upgraded the decision to a red after consulting the pitchside monitor, leaving the hosts to play the majority of the second half with 10 men.
PSG capitalised on the extra player and ultimately completed the turnaround in the 67th minute. Warren Zaire-Emery pulled the ball back to Doué on the edge of the area and the substitute fired low into the corner to make it 3-2. The brace made Doué the first PSG substitute to score two or more goals in a Champions League match since October 2019, and lifted his tally to four goals in this season's European campaign.
The result hands the visitors a valuable lead to take back to Paris for the return leg next Wednesday, while Monaco will rue the opening-minute lapse and the ill-timed red card that shifted momentum.
Implications and immediate fallout
The comeback underlines PSG's depth and ability to respond under pressure, but it also exposes vulnerability in transition after the early goals conceded. Monaco demonstrated their threat on the break and a clinical edge in front of goal through Balogun, but the red card and subsequent domination by PSG left them with work to do in the second leg.
For PSG, the night provided both cause for relief and questions to address: injury concerns for Dembélé, another missed penalty in recent fixtures, and an uneven first-half showing that almost proved costly. Doué's breakthrough performance, however, will give the manager a selection headache of the best kind ahead of the return match in the French capital.
