March 20, (THEWILL) – In Ligue 1 on Sunday, league leaders Paris Saint-Germain suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss to Monaco to pile further pressure on manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Although so much has been made of PSG’s UEFA Champions League capitulation at the hands of La Liga side Real Madrid, Monaco entered the match following their own European exit as well.
Nonetheless, the hosts bounced back from their Europa League defeat on Thursday with a strong start, putting pressure on PSG’s laboured attempts to play out from the back, in the absence of Argentine star Lionel Messi, who is down with the flu.
On the edge of PSG’s penalty area, the outstanding Wissam Ben Yedder picked Leandro Paredes’ pocket 10 minutes into the game, but Jean Lucas pulled the ball away from his top-scoring skipper and blasted his shot high and wide with the open goal at his mercy.
In the 25th minute, Ben Yedder gave Monaco a well-deserved lead when he sumptuously converted Youssouf Fofana’s cross after both scorer and provider surged past a host of immobile blue shirts.
PSG came closest to equalising in the first 45 minutes thanks to a sloppy touch from Monaco goalkeeper Alexander Nubel, who almost put a back pass into his own net.
Pochettino switched back to a back-three after the half-time break. Despite this, except from rare spurts from the pacy Kylian Mbappe, PSG failed to pose any sort of continuous danger.
In fact, even with three specialist centre-backs that Pochettino marshalled to close loopholes in the backline, Monaco substitute Kevin Volland found space in PSG’s box in the 68th minute to increase his side’s advantage.
PSG’s sluggishness was further punished by Ben Yedder, who added to the league leaders’ woes in the final ten minutes.
Monaco’s captain Marco Verratti was caught in possession but he released the ball to Volland in the visitor’s box, tempting Presnel Kimpembe into a reckless tackle that resulted in a penalty which Ben Yedder converted.
It is PSG’s heaviest defeat since April 2019 and their fourth successive loss away from home in what was plainly an afternoon to forget.
Monaco now sits in seventh place in the standings, just three points behind Strasbourg in fifth place. PSG still leads the league by 15 points, but lacklustre performances like this could give second-placed Marseille the chance to do the impossible and catch the leaders.
Of course, it is improbable, but PSG were terrible once again and are not looking like the title contenders the strength of their squad made them out to be at the start of the Ligue 1 2021/2022 campaign.
PSG Suffer 4th Straight Away Loss In 3-Nil Defeat To Monaco
By Jude Obafemi
In Ligue 1 on Sunday, league leaders Paris Saint-Germain suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss to Monaco to pile further pressure on manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Although so much has been made of PSG’s UEFA Champions League capitulation at the hands of La Liga side Real Madrid, Monaco entered the match following their own European exit as well.
Nonetheless, the hosts bounced back from their Europa League defeat on Thursday with a strong start, putting pressure on PSG’s laboured attempts to play out from the back, in the absence of Argentine star Lionel Messi, who is down with the flu.
On the edge of PSG’s penalty area, the outstanding Wissam Ben Yedder picked Leandro Paredes’ pocket 10 minutes into the game, but Jean Lucas pulled the ball away from his top-scoring skipper and blasted his shot high and wide with the open goal at his mercy.
In the 25th minute, Ben Yedder gave Monaco a well-deserved lead when he sumptuously converted Youssouf Fofana’s cross after both scorer and provider surged past a host of immobile blue shirts.
PSG came closest to equalising in the first 45 minutes thanks to a sloppy touch from Monaco goalkeeper Alexander Nubel, who almost put a back pass into his own net.
Pochettino switched back to a back-three after the half-time break. Despite this, except from rare spurts from the pacy Kylian Mbappe, PSG failed to pose any sort of continuous danger.
In fact, even with three specialist centre-backs that Pochettino marshalled to close loopholes in the backline, Monaco substitute Kevin Volland found space in PSG’s box in the 68th minute to increase his side’s advantage.
PSG’s sluggishness was further punished by Ben Yedder, who added to the league leaders’ woes in the final ten minutes.
Monaco’s captain Marco Verratti was caught in possession but he released the ball to Volland in the visitor’s box, tempting Presnel Kimpembe into a reckless tackle that resulted in a penalty which Ben Yedder converted.
It is PSG’s heaviest defeat since April 2019 and their fourth successive loss away from home in what was plainly an afternoon to forget.
Monaco now sits in seventh place in the standings, just three points behind Strasbourg in fifth place. PSG still leads the league by 15 points, but lacklustre performances like this could give second-placed Marseille the chance to do the impossible and catch the leaders.
Of course, it is improbable, but PSG were terrible once again and are not looking like the title contenders the strength of their squad made them out to be at the start of the Ligue 1 2021/2022 campaign.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
