Psg survive Monaco scare and advance 5-4 on aggregate
psg advanced past AS Monaco by a 5-4 aggregate score after a nervy return leg at the Parc des Princes, a tie decided by goals from Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia and Marquinhos. The win keeps Paris through to face either Chelsea or Barcelona in the next round.
Aggregate margin, key scorers and first-leg context
The tie finished 5-4 on aggregate in favor of Paris Saint-Germain, with Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia and Marquinhos among the scorers credited for the qualification. PSG arrived at the Parc des Princes with a one-goal advantage from the first leg at the Stade Louis-II, which had finished 3-2 in Monaco the previous week. A line in one match write-up read: "Comment s'est déroulée votre expérience aujourd'hui ?"
Late twists at the Parc des Princes: red card, Teze and Faes
The match produced late drama. PSG conceded early defensive lapses but were helped when Coulibaly was sent off, an expulsion that shifted the game's balance and allowed Paris to regroup. Teze scored to make it 2-2 at one point in the tie, and Faes converted a late free kick that compounded the tension for PSG in the final minutes.
Joao Neves: calm under pressure and the 'no fear' line
Joao Neves, the 21-year-old Portuguese midfielder, framed the evening as a hard-fought qualification. He acknowledged that having a numerical advantage made the match easier—"Avec un joueur en plus, c'est devenu plus facile"—and described the contest as "très difficile" while stressing Monaco's quality: "c'est Monaco dont on parle, une grande équipe. " Neves added that although the tie had been levelled by Maghnes Akliouche before the break (45'), he never doubted: "Il restait du temps. De la peur, jamais. " He underlined that there were two matches to decide the outcome and that PSG had been better across both legs.
Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia's reaction and the half-time reset
Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia also addressed the scare, conceding that the adverse scoreline had dented confidence: "Le score en notre défaveur a entamé notre confiance. " The attacker—named elsewhere in the coverage as Khvitcha Kvarastkhelia and identified as le Géorgien—said the coach spoke to the group at half-time, they returned with "une grosse motivation, " and that in the second half "on a fait le job. "
Luis Enrique on play-offs, precision, injuries and what comes next
Luis Enrique defended the route PSG took into the knockout phase, having earlier maintained the club should pass through the play-offs. He said the team had reached this point amid an "indigeste" production and lamented "beaucoup trop d'imprécisions" in the first period, while noting Monaco's willingness to play in PSG's style early on. He insisted the second half was of better quality and repeated that "S'il y a une équipe qui est prête pour ce type de match, pour affronter n'importe quelle équipe, c'est nous. "
After the match he stressed he did not like seeing the team suffer at this level, mentioned an "incroyable" schedule and acknowledged there had been many injured players this season—a condition he called important to remedy but "not an excuse. " He judged the tie a deserved qualification despite the difficulty—"On a mérité cette qualification"—described the match as a "match piège, " and said there were moments when PSG lost precision. Looking ahead, he confirmed the next opponent will be Chelsea or Barcelona and said PSG must continue with the same mentality over the remaining three months of competition to try to repeat last season's exploits.
