Paris St-Germain produced a stirring recovery at the Stade Louis II, overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League knockout phase play-off.
Luis Enrique began the night with Desire Doue among the substitutes, but the decision was quickly tested as the holders found themselves under immediate pressure from the hosts.
Monaco struck inside the opening minute when Folarin Balogun met Aleksandr Golovin’s delivery with a close-range header to put the home side ahead.
The situation worsened in the 18th minute as Balogun broke clear and calmly finished past Matvey Safonov, registering his 10th goal of the campaign and doubling Monaco’s advantage.
Missed chance and rapid response before the interval
PSG were handed an opportunity to respond four minutes later after Wout Faes brought down Khvicha Kvaratskhelia inside the penalty area.
Vitinha, who had failed from the spot against Newcastle United in the final league-phase fixture last month, stepped up again but was denied by Phillip Kohn, who dove to his right to keep out the effort.
Luis Enrique had already introduced Doue for Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, and the 20-year-old made an immediate impact.
In the 29th minute, Doue fired in off the post from a tight angle to reduce the deficit before his long-range attempt just before halftime was pushed into the path of Achraf Hakimi, who struck a half-volley to level the contest and score his first Champions League goal of the season.
Red card shifts momentum as doue seals comeback
Monaco’s hopes suffered a major blow moments after the restart when Golovin received a second dismissal in four days.
Initially shown a yellow card for a challenge on Vitinha, the referee upgraded the decision to a red after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.
With the numerical advantage, PSG controlled proceedings and completed the turnaround in the 67th minute.
Warren Zaire-Emery set up Doue for his second of the evening, and the forward’s finish past Kohn made him the first PSG substitute to score two or more goals in a Champions League match since October 2019.