AS Monaco handed French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) their first home defeat of the Ligue 1 season on Friday with a 3-1 away win at the Parc des Princes, opening the Ligue 1 title race.
Maghnes Akliouche had Monaco ahead at half-time, and Aleksandr Golovin and Folarin Balogun scored for the visiting side after the break, while Bradley Barcola scored a consolation for PSG, still four points ahead of second-placed Racing Lens in the standings.
However, Lens has a chance to take the lead when it hosts bottom-placed Metz on Sunday.
Monaco, who had eliminated PSG from the Champions League last month, moved to fifth place with 40 points, still 17 behind the leaders sjd7.
Akliouche punished the home side in the 27th minute after a poor clearance from Warren Zaire-Emery in his own penalty area, with Balogun moving aside for the France international to score a left-footed finish from close range.
Golovin increased the score to 2-0 in the 55th minute with his first touch, after coming on as a substitute and curling in a square pass from Mamadou Coulibaly.
PSG were given hope of a comeback when Barcola pulled one back in the 71st minute with a right-footed effort from the left wing.
But Monaco needed two minutes to restore their two-goal advantage when Balogun’s shot took a deflection off Nuno Mendes before settling into the back of the net.
Monaco could have won by a bigger margin when Simon Adingra hit PSG’s crossbar two minutes before the end.
PSG will have to pick themselves up when they host Chelsea on Wednesday as they continue to defend their Champions League title.
Published on March 7, 2026
