Paris topple Monaco and go further ahead at the top of Ligue 1!

Three days after their convincing 3-1 win over Olympique Lyonnais at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain were soon back to Ligue 1 action and facing another of the country's big guns: AS Monaco. Luis Enrique opted to field a central defensive pairing of captain Marquinhos and Willian Pacho sitting in front of Gigio Donnarumma in goal. At full-back, João Neves started on the left, while Achraf Hakimi took his place on the right. In midfield, Vitinha supported Fabian Ruiz and Warren Zaïre-Emery. As for the attack, it was led by a new French trio comprising Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué.

In a thrilling start to the game, it was the Parisians who were the first to threaten through Achraf Hakimi, who hit the woodwork after leaving Philipp Köhn stranded from an unlikely angle (4'). João Neves then set up Bradley Barcola on the left, forcing the keeper into a save (5'). Monaco's response was soon to follow, as Ben Seghir took advantage of Breel Embolo's deflection in a quick transition to unleash a long-range but powerful shot that Gigio Donnarumma saved easily (8'). And less than ten minutes later, the Parisian keeper won his battle with Wilfried Singo, who miraculously escaped an obvious red card (17').

With a serious facial injury, the Italian international was forced to make way for Matvey Safonov. Despite the interruption, which lasted several minutes, Paris did not let up, however, and Achraf Hakimi, once again, made a name for himself down the right wing before feeding Désiré Doué, who finished perfectly (0-1, 24')! Like a well-oiled machine, the Parisians were in firm control of the match, and they came close to doubling their lead just before the break, first with another powerful strike from Achraf Hakimi (42'), then Ousmane Dembélé's effort that was parried by Köhn after Désiré Doué's superb piece of skill in the box (45+4').

After the break, the home side took advantage of an inadvertent handball in the Paris area to level the scores thanks to Eliesse Ben Seghir's penalty (1-1, 53'). Adi Hütter's men then took the lead on the hour mark when Breel Embolo met Maghnes Akliouche's cross at the near post (2-1, 60'). It was a real blow for the Rouge et Bleu, who were taken by surprise by a more pragmatic Monaco side. However, Ousmane Dembélé needed just a few minutes to put Paris back on level terms, following up from a Fabian Ruiz shot parried by Köhn (2-2, 64th)!

The capital club threw everything into a thrilling finale, and they were rewarded. Gonçalo Ramos, who had just come on as a substitute at the apex of the Parisian attack, rose above the Monegasque defence to head home Lee Kang-In's corner (2-3, 83'). The Monegasques tried to recover, buoyed by Akliouche who set up Takumi Minamino without success (85'). Lee Kang-In was equally unlucky, taking advantage of Ousmane Dembélé's delightful back-heel to unleash a curling shot that was eventually tipped onto the post by Köhn (90+2).

But the Rouge et Bleu were not to be denied, sealing their victory in added time thanks to their No10, who this time finished off the ASM keeper with a cold-blooded stinging shot (2-4, 90+7'). The last laugh went to Paris, winning on the Rock and taking a 10-point lead over their opponents. Now it's on to the Coupe de France for the Rouge et Bleu, with the final fixture of the year and another decisive away trip in their sights: to Lens this Sunday at 9pm in the competition's Round of 32. The countdown is on!