PSG suffered a shock defeat to French Ligue 1 title contenders Monaco, losing 3-1 to the home side.
The loss saw the French Champions fail to extend their lead on top of the Ligue 1 table.
While slightly losing the ball possession to the Ligue 1 giants, Monaco earned a deserved win after putting up a brilliant display in front of their home fans.
With just 48% of the ball possession, Monaco mounted a strong and formidable challenge against the Ligue 1 serial champions.
They had more shots on target than PSG and showed more hunger for a win than PSG. PSG managed just 7 shots, with only two on target throughout the game. They had 52% of the ball, but could not threaten Monaco’s defense.
Monaco wrestled for 48% of the ball possession, but fired 19 shots, with 9 on target. They also had more corners and were obviously hungrier to secure victory and grab all three points which they did.
Meanwhile, PSG lost two of their top forwards to the sideline before the game, affecting the bearing of the match. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe were both ruled out of the game, including Marco Veratti.
After just 4 minutes into the first half, Golovin gave Monaco the lead, before Wissam Ben Yedder doubled it in the 18th minute.
Zaire-Emery put one back for PSG in the 39th minute, restoring hopes of a come-back, but Ben Yedda scored again in the stoppage time of the first half to secure the win and bag his brace.
The second half was barren, with no goals from both sides after the first half witnessed a rain of goals.
After the loss, Prsenel Kimpembe, who was stripped of the captaincy hand band for Kylian Mbappe, used a megaphone to apologize to PSG’s traveling fans for the defeat.
He apologize for an abysmal display against Monaco, and asked for the support of the fans as the club gets ready for the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich this week.
PSG gave their all, but the absence of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi was a game-changer.
The loss further buttresses the weakness of the team without their key players.
Meanwhile, the club takes on Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, and it has been confirmed Kylian Mbappe will miss the first leg at Parc des Princes with a thigh injury.
There are hopes Lionel Messi will return to the team before the trip to Allianz Arena after the Argentine playmaker suffered a hamstring injury.
Despite the defeat, PSG are still on top of the table, with 54 points. They are five points above second-placed Marseille.
Monaco are third on the table with 47 points, 7 points adrift of PSG.
It has not been rosy for Christoph Galtier since returning from the World Cup break. PSG have now lost three of their seven league matches with this latest defeat coming after they were knocked out of the French Cup by Marseille on Wednesday.
The former Nice boss will face a tough test when he travels to Bayern Munich for the Champions League round 16 clash without Kylian Mbappe.
