Monaco 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain: Ben Yedder brace downs leaders

Paris Saint-Germain's poor start to 2023 continued as Wissam Ben Yedder scored twice in Monaco's 3-1 win over the Ligue 1 leaders, who sorely missed the injured Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. 

Hamstring issues kept Messi and Mbappe out at the Stade Louis II, and with the likes of Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi benched, Christophe Galtier's below-strength team were all at sea.

Aleksandr Golovin struck early for Monaco and Ben Yedder doubled up before half-time, punishing an error from 17-year-old El Chadaille Bitshiabu for his first goal.

Sixteen-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery briefly put PSG back in contention before Ben Yedder's second, but PSG's defensive shortcomings ensured they suffered their third league defeat since the turn of the year.

PSG fell behind just four minutes into a calamitous display, Golovin poking home after Youssouf Fofana's powerful run teed up Ben Yedder for a blocked attempt.

Monaco continued to test a nervous PSG backline and punished a mistake from Bitshiabu after 18 minutes, with Ben Yedder drilling beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma after the defender carelessly lost possession.

PSG halved the arrears when Juan Bernat's cut-back found Zaire-Emery for a simple tap-in, but the outstanding Ben Yedder restored Monaco's two-goal lead with a composed one-on-one finish as half-time approached.

Ben Yedder almost brought up his treble with a powerful header after 61 minutes, only for Donnarumma to deny him with a firm one-handed stop.

Donnarumma was then alert to prevent half-time substitute Ramos putting through his own net as PSG escaped further humiliation, but they will need a major improvement ahead of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich. 

What does it mean? PSG on the slide

Given the ease with which PSG have mopped up domestic honours in recent seasons, Galtier could perhaps be forgiven for having half an eye on Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Bayern.

The Parisians will surely improve for that last-16 encounter, with Messi likely to join a host of other big names in returning to the starting XI.

However, PSG's form is undoubtedly a concern. They have already lost as many away league games in 2023 as they did in the entirety of 2022 (three), giving Marseille the chance to cut their advantage at the summit to five points on Sunday.

Familiar foe haunts PSG

Most Ligue 1 players have found goals hard to come by against PSG since their 2011 takeover by Qatar Sports Investments. Ben Yedder, however, is an exception.

The Monaco skipper, whose 14 goals this season have him joint-top of Ligue 1's scoring charts, has now hit nine goals against PSG in all competitions, more than any other player during the Qatari ownership era.

Neymar anonymous

Most teams would struggle when deprived of the talents of Messi and Mbappe, but PSG would certainly have hoped for more from the third member of their revered forward trio.

Neymar managed one shot worth 0.04 xG all game, having more touches (103) than any other visiting player but failing to carve out a single chance for his team-mates.

Key Opta Facts

– PSG have lost three of their seven Ligue 1 games in 2023 (W3 D1), as many as in their previous 45 games in the competition (W32 D10). It is also their highest tally of defeats after seven games of a calendar year in the league since 2010 (five).
– With his brace, Ben Yedder became Ligue 1's second-highest scorer in the 21st century (140 goals), overtaking Edinson Cavani (138) and now only topped by Mbappe (148).
– PSG have lost four of their last six Ligue 1 games against Monaco (W1 D1), the same number of defeats as in their previous 19 clashes (W6 D9). Their three consecutive away losses against Monaco in the top flight are a first in the 21st century.
– PSG conceded 16 shots inside their box against Monaco, their highest tally in a Ligue 1 match since 21 December 2011 against a St Etienne side coached by Galtier (20). Their 3.1 expected goals against was also their highest tally in the league since November 2020 – against Monaco (3.95).
– This is the first time in the last 40 years two players under the age of 18 have been involved in a goal in the same Ligue 1 game (Zaire-Emery's goal for PSG, Salim Ben Seghir's assist for Monaco).
– Neymar lost possession of the ball 28 times, the highest tally for a PSG player in Ligue 1 this season. However, the Brazilian attempted (nine) and completed (five) as many dribbles as the rest of his team-mates combined.

What's next? 

PSG face Bayern in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, while Monaco head to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League knockout round play-offs on Thursday.