PSG lose their first points and concede a draw against AS Monaco (1-1)

There is a first hitch in the PSG season, and it appeared earlier than expected. At the end of the shock of the 4th day of Ligue 1, PSG shared the points with Monaco at home (1-1). Christophe Galtier’s men, seriously out of luck and upset like never before by far too disciplined opponents, even had to run after the score. It took a penalty obtained and transformed by Neymar, after intervention by the VAR, to avoid a first defeat which would have clearly done the job. In the standings, the capital club must share the lead with Marseille and Lens, and owes its first place to its already dizzying goal difference.

The idyllic beginnings are already behind them. On the occasion of the reception of Monaco, the Parisians experienced a complicated and contrasting first evening. It must be said that Philippe Clement’s men came to the Parc des Princes with a clear and effective game plan: to exert high and constant pressure on the ball carrier, to asphyxiate him and prevent him from maneuvering. We wondered how long this energy-intensive tactic would last. It will at least have prevented the Parisians from combining well during almost the entire first period. As a bonus, the scenario would quickly become ideal for the Monegasques, who were able to open the scoring through Kevin Volland, on the very first chance of the match (0-1, 20th).

Monaco knew how to upset PSG

Unrecognizable compared to their recent outings, the men of Christophe Galtier took time to get out of the quagmire and the fight in which the ASM plunged them. The end of the first act nevertheless turned to their advantage. A decisive gesture from Axel Disasi (43rd) and, above all, the amounts of Alexander Nübel prevented Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé (45th) from allowing their team to leave for the locker room with a parity score. Nevertheless, these first more than frank situations sounded the alarm clock for the Parisians, who returned from the break with much better intentions, and a hint of more ideas in the face of Monegasques who were logically caught up by their many efforts.

Nevertheless, success was clearly not on the side of the Parisians this Sunday evening. They fell on an impeccable Nübel, who perfectly closed his angle against Neymar (59th) and cracked a chest stop in a face-to-face with Mbappé (84th). They also hit the post a third time, by Achraf Hakimi (74th). Fortunately for them that the VAR exists, the technology having signaled a foul by Guillermo Maripan on Neymar at the entrance to the surface. The Brazilian quickly grabbed the ball to avoid a second penaltygate. And he did well since he applied his infallible technique to deceive a Nübel who remained impassive (1-1, 70th). Neymar is therefore six goals and as many assists in four days of Ligue 1.

Some will see the glass half full, others half empty. Never mind, this draw against a very sluggish Monaco team in recent weeks is a task compared to the first three demonstrations of PSG, which remained on a hair-raising 7-1 away. This is further proof that nothing is ever decided in advance in football and that it is important not to get carried away. This booster shot, which comes very early in the season, should be good for Parisians who will play a string of matches in the next fortnight, in particular confrontations with Juventus Turin and Olympique Lyonnais. In short, we will soon know a little more about the real level of PSG.