With Paris Saint-Germain scoring minutes into the match against AS Monaco, it felt as though the capital club was going to flex their offensive muscle on the Monégasques. Unfortunately, that didn’t turn out to be the case.
PSG manager Thomas Tuchel sent out a starting lineup that included a front four Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappé, Mauro Icardi, and Ángel Di María. With the Brazilian opening up the scoring for PSG, it looked as though the move would work, but Monaco had other ideas.
The capital club’s defending throughout the match was poor, which resulted in the first goal by the principality outfit. PSG defenders were unable to clear the ball leading to Gelson Martins scoring for Monaco as they quickly responded to the Neymar goal from a few minutes earlier.
Another aspect of the match that many talked about was the decision of Tuchel having two midfielders in Marco Verratti and Idrissa Gueye, which left Les Parisiens vulnerable. An example of this came in the second goal as Monaco was able to slice through the midfield and defense with no issue leading to Wissam Ben Yedder making 2-1 and shocking PSG.
Despite being punched in the mouth, PSG did respond as Neymar would once again carry the offensive duties as his shot would deflect off Fodé Ballo-Touré leading to an own-goal. The capital club looked as though they took Monaco’s best shot and remained standing. Then, as the first half was about to end, Mbappé drew a foul in the box, leading to a penalty-kick opportunity that Neymar would convert.
With the match 3-2, PSG looked as though they regained control of it, but Monaco wasn’t going to back down. Needing a goal, Monaco manager Robert Moreno decided to take out Cesc Fàbregas in favor of another attacker in Islam Slimani. The decision proved to be the right one as Slimani scored the game-tying goal leading to the eventual 3-3 draw.
Aside from the scoring, there was a scary moment in which Mbappé had injured his knee, but the 21-year-old was able to shake it off and continue playing. In net, Keylor Navas didn’t have the best of nights but was able to come up with vital saves that limit the damage, keeping PSG in the game.
Finally, some PSG supporters might freak out with Borussia Dortmund around the corner in the UEFA Champions League, but it’s a valuable lesson that Tuchel must learn from going forward. The 4-2-2 formation might leave the capital club too exposed, but before overreacting, let’s not forget that Dortmund has its weaknesses on defense as well.
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