Monaco saw their streak of seven victories come to an abrupt end (4-1) at Jean-Bouin, corrected by an exceptional Paris FC which may have delivered their best match of the season on Friday for the 29th day of Ligue 1. The PFC took a big step towards maintenance by temporarily rising to 12th place with 35 points, while Monaco remains at 49 points and could be overtaken by Marseille, who are playing against Metz in the second match of Friday (9:05 pm).
It was champagne football on Friday at Jean-Bouin. Antoine Kombouaré’s PFC delighted their fans in proportions they probably did not expect this season, envisioned by the Arnault family owners to be a humble transition after Ligue 2. Their team was leading 3-0 after 21 minutes of play, catching Monaco off guard, as they were used to being given the field in their last seven matches, all of which were won.
In the 4th minute, Jonathan Ikone scored from six meters after a tight center from Moses Simon. The former PSG player then scored again, concluding another classy action from PFC (21st minute). In the meantime, Ciro Immobile scored a nice goal with a shot into the top corner, his second in his new colors. The three goals each came after a dynamic and ambitious passing game that had been rarely seen from these Parisians this season. The supporters could hardly believe their eyes, feeling like they were in the nearby Parc des Princes. And to top it off, Maxime Lopez scored on Monaco’s goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky with an extraordinary close-range stop with a stretched leg, after another splendid movement from the home team (14th minute).
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Paul Pogba is back
Desperate to catch up quickly, Monaco showed vulnerability, offering several opportunities for PFC to capitalize. In attack, the Red and Whites seemed capable of scoring multiple goals, but were too imprecise. Folarin Balogun, in excellent form, finally scored his seventh goal in as many matches, beating Kevin Trapp with a low shot after a wild race (36th minute). But he and his teammates had to try to shoot many times before that.
The tide began to turn, and Antoine Kombouaré seemed to have sensed it well, as his team came back from the break positioned higher to avoid being dominated. And despite the highly applauded comeback of Paul Pogba, who had not played competitively since December, and that of Maghnes Akliouche, it was PFC who scored the fifth goal of the match, through another substitute. Luca Koleosho, who was close to scoring two minutes earlier, sent his shot under the crossbar to lift the crowd (71st minute). His teammates shook their heads in front of this sumptuous goal, incredulous, probably summarizing their feelings of the evening. Paris FC remains unbeaten under Antoine Kombouaré’s leadership.
