Paris Saint-Germain suffered a setback in the Ligue 1 title race, losing 3-1 at home to a well-organized Monaco team on Friday.
This marks PSG’s fourth league defeat this season, and their rivals, Lens, have the opportunity to close the gap to just one point at the top if they defeat the struggling Metz on Sunday.
Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche got the scoring underway with a goal in the 27th minute, and American forward Folarin Balogun secured the win with a deflected shot in the 73rd minute.
Monaco had previously beaten PSG 1-0 in September and has led in all four encounters this season, including two in the Champions League.
PSG will face Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 matchup on Wednesday.
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Akliouche capitalized on a defensive error by Warren Zaïre-Emery in the 27th minute, as the young player attempted to dribble out of his penalty area but lost possession.
Balogun quickly linked up with Akliouche, who fired the ball in off the post.
Earlier in the season, Akliouche had also scored against PSG at Parc des Princes during the Champions League playoffs, where PSG advanced with a 5-4 aggregate score.
Monaco doubled their lead just 10 minutes into the second half thanks to midfielder Aleksandr Golovin, who had just entered the match, sliding the ball into the corner after receiving a cross from the right. He almost scored again shortly after with a stunning strike from 25 meters out.
Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé made his return for PSG in the 60th minute after missing three games due to a calf injury, but was not at his best.
Forward Bradley Barcola scored for PSG in the 71st minute with a deflected shot, but Balogun quickly restored Monaco’s two-goal lead with a shot from the edge of the area that went over goalkeeper Matvei Safonov‘s head.
Safonov faced another close call near the end of the match when Simon Adingra hit the crossbar with his shot.