Psg Vs Monaco: Holders survive huge scare to reach Champions League last 16
psg vs monaco ended 2-2 on the night as Paris St-Germain held on to win 5-4 on aggregate and advance to the Champions League last 16, a result that came after Monaco went ahead just before half-time and were reduced to 10 men in the second half.
Monaco struck first before the interval
Maghnes Akliouche opened the scoring for Monaco with a first-time finish that found the bottom corner the post, giving the principality side the lead just before half-time and levelling the tie overall after PSG’s 3-2 win in the first leg in the principality.
Red card swings the tie
Mamadou Coulibaly was shown two yellow cards in three minutes and was sent off on 58 minutes for a tackle on Achraf Hakimi; he had been booked only a few minutes earlier for a foul on Nuno Mendes. The second yellow, produced by the Romanian referee, came just before the hour mark and proved the turning point.
Psg Vs Monaco: quick reply from the holders
PSG levelled almost immediately after the red card when Marquinhos slotted home from Desire Doue's low cross, the goal coming from a free-kick that was played short to Doue on the right. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then put the visitors ahead on 66 minutes, firing in from close range after Hakimi's low strike was parried by Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Kohn into Kvaratskhelia's path.
Late consolation and match details
Jordan Teze scored a stoppage-time consolation for Monaco, turning in a deflected Simon Adingra centre, but it was not enough as PSG advanced 5-4 on aggregate. Earlier in the match Monaco had threatened on several occasions: Akliouche created chances and Coulibaly blazed an effort over from an Akliouche cutback, while Folarin Balogun forced a save when his chipped effort was tipped over by Matfei Safonov. Bradley Barcola struck the bar for PSG and Wout Faes nearly made it even later in stoppage time.
How both legs shaped the tie
In the first leg, PSG came from two goals down to win 3-2 in Monaco, and that comeback left them with the slender advantage that ultimately carried them through despite the 2-2 draw in the return. Monaco had also seen a player sent off early in the second half of that first-leg meeting, repeating a pattern that left them needing a decisive finish here.
What this means now
With the aggregate 5-4 victory, PSG will discover their last-16 opponents when the knockout draw takes place on Friday (11: 00 GMT). The holders will learn whether they will face Barcelona or Chelsea among the possible rivals on the road to the final in Budapest. PSG previously beat Barcelona 2-1 away during the league phase in October, have met the Catalans in five knockout ties since 2013, and played Chelsea in the Club World Cup final last year, losing 3-0 — their only blip in that campaign.
Additional context from the tie: Monaco sit eighth in Ligue 1, 20 points behind PSG in the domestic table, though they beat Paris in November. The principality side had not won a Champions League knockout tie since their run to the semi-finals in 2017 with a teenage Kylian Mbappe. Monaco coach Sebastien Pocognoli set his team up in a 5-3-1-1 formation with Akliouche supporting central striker Folarin Balogun, the US national team forward who had scored twice in the first leg. PSG were missing Ousmane Dembele with a calf injury for this match.
PSG will now await Friday's draw and begin preparations for the last-16 schedule once their opponent is confirmed.
