Paris victorious in the last match at the Parc!

It was in a special atmosphere, in a Parc des Princes dressed in Christmas colours, that Paris Saint-Germain hosted AS Monaco for the final home outing of 2021. For this historic clash in French football, Mauricio Pochettino continued with his 4-3-3, with the same two trios in midfield and in attack that started for the excellent victory over Bruges.

On paper, AS Monaco is a real bogey team for the club from the capital, who hold bad memories of their clashes against them last season. And the start to the match proved that Kovac's side weren't there to roll over, with the post denying Diop's strike in the second minute. Les Parisiens quickly put their foot to the pedal to offer a response. And who better than Kylian Mbappé, in incredible form since the start of the season, to make it a difficult Sunday evening for his former club? And the n°7 perfectly converted a penalty that was given after Sidibé fouled Angel Di Maria in the box (1-0, 9').

Les Monégasques then looked to strike back, creating a series of very good chances in Donnarumma's box. But the Italian goalkeeper wasn't in the mood to be beaten,  as he showed as he rushed out to deny Ben Yedder (24'). The two sides then looked to beat the other on the counter, with some excellent end-to-end football. And it was at the best possible moment that Les Rouge et Bleu decided to strike again! On the counter through Leo Messi, the Argentine perfectly found Kylian Mbappé, who beat his man and beautifully struck into the back of the net (2-0, 45'+1). His 100th goal for Paris in Ligue 1!

The second goal understandably drove Les Monégasques to accelerate as they returned from the dressing room. But Les Parisiens kept things tight and compact. Intelligently, Les Rouge et Bleu alternated between keeping the ball and changing rhythm with some excellent direct passing. That saw Leo Messi come close on three occasions, missing the target by just a couple of centimetres (65', 71', 80').

With this impressive victory in the final outing of the year at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain ensure an exemplary record at home, having not lost a match at home since the start of the season. There are two away trips left to bring 2021 to a close: to the North to face Entente Feignies Aulnoye and to Brittany against Lorient.