Paris Saint-Germain Edge Past Monaco Drama to Secure Champions League Last Sixteen Spot
Paris Saint-Germain overturned an early deficit and endured a tense finish against 10-man Monaco, finishing with a 2-2 draw in the return leg of their Champions League play-off matchup on Wednesday to advance to the last 16 via a 5-4 aggregate scoreline.
The reigning European champions bounced back from a two-goal disadvantage to claim a 3-2 victory in the away first leg last week, during which Monaco lost a player to a red card early in the second half.
The pattern repeated itself in this encounter, as French midfielder Maghnes Akliouche netted what was a fair lead for Monaco at half-time, tying the aggregate at that point.
Yet, with Mamadou Coulibaly dismissed on 58 minutes, PSG responded by levelling through Marquinhos, before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia appeared to seal the overall win.
Jordan Teze pulled one back to make it 2-2 in added time, and Wout Faes squandered a prime opportunity moments later, but PSG clung on to move forward.
"Naturally, that final goal from them and the ensuing chance ramped up the tension and gave us a real jolt, but in the end, we showed resilience after going behind and performed strongly as a unit," said PSG's Desire Doue in an interview with Canal Plus.
Luis Enrique's squad now awaits the draw on Friday for their path to the final in Budapest, potentially facing Barcelona or Chelsea in the round of 16.
Paris defeated Barcelona 2-1 on the road in the league phase back in October and have clashed with the Spanish side in five knockout series since 2013. They met Chelsea in last year's Club World Cup final, falling 3-0 in their sole setback of an otherwise stellar run.
PSG's bid to defend their crown stays on track, while Monaco exit at the play-off stage for the second consecutive year.
"I take pride in our performances across both matches and throughout this European journey," remarked Monaco manager Sebastien Pocognoli.
"My players deserve credit for unsettling PSG to that extent, yet we feel disappointment in concluding both fixtures with 10 men, leaving us to ponder what might have been with a full squad."
Expectations were high for PSG to dominate their Ligue 1 counterparts, as Monaco sit eighth in the table, trailing the top side by 20 points, though they did overcome the capital club in November.
The Monegasque outfit had not progressed in a Champions League knockout tie since reaching the semi-finals in 2017, powered by a young Kylian Mbappe.
Red Card Alters Dynamics
After racing to a 2-0 lead within 18 minutes in the opener, Monaco squandered early chances here too, with Coulibaly firing over from an Akliouche pass inside the first 10 minutes. Balogun's lob was then palmed away by Matfei Safonov.
Bradley Barcola hit the crossbar for PSG, who were without the injured Ousmane Dembele, but Monaco dominated and earned a rightful advantage shortly before the break.
From the left, Caio Henrique delivered into the box, where Coulibaly nodded it down for Akliouche to finish calmly.
The contest was even on aggregate now, but the balance tipped back towards the title holders when Coulibaly received his marching orders just shy of the hour mark, mirroring the first leg's dismissal of Aleksandr Golovin.
Already cautioned for tripping Nuno Mendes, Coulibaly lunged tardily at Achraf Hakimi this time, earning a second yellow from the Romanian official.
PSG capitalised immediately from the free-kick, recycling it quickly to Doue on the flank, whose driven cross was poked home by Marquinhos at the near post.
The visitors seized control, taking the lead in the second leg on 66 minutes when Hakimi's fierce effort was pushed out by Philipp Koehn, and Kvaratskhelia pounced on the rebound.
Monaco nearly dragged the game to extra time regardless, as replacement Teze bundled in a wayward Simon Adingra delivery during stoppage time to level the scores, with Faes coming close to a winner soon after.