Ligue 1: AS Monaco hold their own in draw with Paris Saint-Germain

Despite carving out a host of opportunities and being the better side in the first half, AS Monaco ultimately had to settle for a 0-0 draw against the mighty Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Louis II.

The Match

Picking an attackingly-geared side for this colossal clash, this decision immediately paid off for Adi Hutter, as ASM began the match in fine fashion.

Kicking things off with a decent look from Folarin Balogun before Takumi Minamino unleashed a long range blast, this set the tone nicely for their positive first half.

With the game settling into a pattern of PSG dominating possession and Les Monegasques looking extremely dangerous whenever they attacked, the chances continued to come for Monaco, as Wissam Ben Yedder, Aleksandr Golovin, Maghnes Akliouche and Kassoum Ouattara came close in the opening period.

Monaco also deserve credit for defending in a diligent and organised manner to successfully keep PSG at bay, with them impressively restricting their star-studded opponents to just three touches inside the box in the opening 45 minutes.

Eager to stamp their mark on the contest going forward, PSG came out for the second stanza full of gusto even though Kylian Mbappe was taken off at the break, for they quickly put Monaco on the back foot.

Monaco still posed a threat, though, with Ben Yedder and his fellow frontmen still asking regular questions of the PSG backline.

Radoslaw Majecki crucially carried on his excellent form by producing some handy stops to deny Lucas Beraldo and Bradley Barcola, with the latter especially eye-catching to keep out the young talent’s strike.

The Polish shot stopper then flexed his muscles again to deny Vitinha’s powerful hit.

Although the two teams tried as they tired, quality chances were hard to come by in the closing stages. Guillermo Maripan notably wasn’t far off with a header in stoppage time, but the game ended in a draw on a night where both teams enjoyed periods of superiority and Monaco kept a much-needed clean sheet.

Hutter’s Debrief

“To start off, I have to say that it was a great match! The first 60 minutes was really good from us, and I think it’s a good point for us. PSG put a lot of pressure on us then in the last half hour, we had to defend more against the PSG substitutes who brought speed. Perhaps we could have had a better result, but in the end it was a fair draw,” insisted the Austrian tactician.

“In any case, I want to congratulate my players, starting with Youssouf and Golo, who did a monstrous job. I also want to say a word about the two goalkeepers, who had a great match, whether it was Donnarumma who prevented us from scoring, or Radeck, who also made decisive saves.

“After the match against Toulouse at home (1-2 defeat), no one thought we could take four points in two games against Lens and PSG. We must continue in this state of mind by being very solid like tonight, and by playing our football.”

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (1.61 to 1.57), big chances created (5 to 3), shots inside the box (12 to 7), interceptions (14 to 2) and tackles won (12 to 10) underlined what a force to be reckoned with they were.

Up Next

Following this outstanding body of work against one of the elite outfits in world football, Monaco will now turn their attention to their fixture vs. Strasbourg next weekend, where a win is a must to maintain momentum in their Champions League qualification push.