Havana, February 18 (RHC) – Reigning champion Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) came back from a 0-2 deficit to beat Monaco 3-2 in the first leg of the Champions League play-off, thanks to a brace from Désiré Doué.
At the Stade Louis II in Monaco, the home side came out firing, with a brace from Englishman Folarin Balogun giving them a 2-0 lead over Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain by the 18th minute. PSG equalized before halftime with Doué’s first goal in the 29th minute and a strike from Moroccan full-back Achraf Hakimi in the 41st.
The second half promised an exciting match, but almost immediately after kickoff, Monaco’s Russian midfielder Aleksandr Golovin was sent off after a reckless challenge on PSG’s midfield maestro, Portuguese Vitinha, tilting the game in PSG’s favor.
Doué sealed the victory in the 67th minute, sending his team to the second leg on Wednesday, February 25th at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
From that match, one of the clubs will advance to the Champions League round of 16, and the other will return home.
In the other first-leg matches on Tuesday, Real Madrid emerged victorious with a 1-0 win over Benfica, Borussia Dortmund triumphed 2-0 against Atalanta, and Galatasaray secured a surprising 5-2 victory against Juventus.
