Psg Vs Monaco: PSG 2-2 Monaco (5-4 agg) — holders reach Champions League last 16 in psg vs monaco tie
PSG survived a late scare to advance to the Champions League last 16 after a 2-2 draw with Monaco, winning 5-4 on aggregate in a tense second-leg tie. The psg vs monaco match swung on a red card to Mamadou Coulibaly and quickfire responses from Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Scoreline and what it means — holders through despite late threat
Paris St-Germain finished the tie 5-4 on aggregate after the 2-2 draw, eliminating Monaco despite the visitors finishing with 10 men. The holders advance to the last 16 of the Champions League and will discover potential opponents on Friday; Chelsea and Barcelona are both named as possible rivals, and the knockout draw timing is given in the context as Friday (11: 00 GMT).
Maghnes Akliouche opens the scoring for Monaco
Monaco took the lead just before half-time when Mamadou Coulibaly threaded a pass through to Maghnes Akliouche, who finished first-time into the bottom corner the post. The away side had threatened earlier: Akliouche played a dangerous ball into the box that should have created an opening and Coulibaly himself had an effort that flew high over the bar. The goal followed a sequence in which Matfei Safonov could only partially clear a cross and Caio Henrique returned the ball into the middle for Coulibaly to lay off to Akliouche.
Red card for Mamadou Coulibaly shifts momentum in Psg Vs Monaco
Mamadou Coulibaly was sent off on 58 minutes after receiving two yellow cards in three minutes. He had been booked a few minutes earlier for a foul on Nuno Mendes and then picked up a second yellow for a tackle on Achraf Hakimi, the second shown by the Romanian referee. The dismissal left Monaco down to 10 men — a situation mirrored from the first leg when Aleksandr Golovin was shown red early in the second half.
Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia strike after the sending-off
PSG levelled almost immediately after the red card when Marquinhos turned home from a low set-piece sequence: the free-kick was played short to Desire Doue on the right and his low cross was converted by Marquinhos. That momentum continued on 66 minutes when Achraf Hakimi's low strike was parried by Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Kohn (spelling unclear in the provided context), allowing Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to fire in from close range and put PSG ahead on the night.
Late Monaco response and the first-leg background
Monaco did rally in stoppage time when Jordan Teze turned in a deflected Simon Adingra centre to make it 2-2, a stoppage-time consolation that left PSG nervy but through. Wout Faes very nearly added another for Monaco in the closing moments. The result completed a tie that began with PSG coming from two goals down to win 3-2 in the principality in last week's first leg; Folarin Balogun scored twice in that game and is noted as Monaco's central striker and a US national team player. In the first leg Monaco had a man sent off early in the second half when Aleksandr Golovin saw red.
Tactical notes, injuries and wider context
Monaco coach Sebastien Pocognoli set his team up in a 5-3-1-1 formation with Maghnes Akliouche supporting Folarin Balogun. Monaco are described as sitting eighth in Ligue 1 and 20 points behind league leaders PSG, though they had beaten 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 side featuring a teenage Kylian Mbappe. PSG were missing last year's Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele with a calf injury for this tie.
Match incidents earlier in the game included a Balogun chip that was tipped over by Matfei Safonov for Monaco and a Bradley Barcola strike for PSG that hit the bar. The second-leg sending-off of Coulibaly proved pivotal: PSG converted the ensuing set-piece sequence and then took advantage of a rebound to seal their aggregate win. The holders will now await the knockout-draw outcome and their route all the way to the final in Budapest, with Barcelona and Chelsea both listed as possible opponents in the last 16.
