The absence of Lionel Messi was felt as Paris Saint-Germain stumbled to a 3-0 defeat to AS Monaco this weekend.
Paris Saint-Germain succumbed to their fourth defeat in the last six matches as they fell to a 3-0 loss at the hands of AS Monaco. The result will only put pressure on Mauricio Pochettino, who is destined to be sacked come the end of the season.
Despite coming on the back of a 3-0 win over Bordeaux, PSG never looked comfortable dealing with the Monaco press. As such, it was the hosts that dominated the game throughout the ninety minutes, being on the front foot and asking questions at every turn. They were able to create countless turnovers and made life difficult for PSG.
However, Monaco were quite wasteful in front of goal and should have scored at least thrice. But several missed opportunities meant they headed into half-time with just a slender one-goal lead scored by Wissam Ben Yedder.
PSG grew into the game in the second half, dominating more possession and crafting goalscoring opportunities in the final third. But the visitors also looked wasteful in the final third, with Kylian Mbappe notably missing a glorious opportunity. The lack of productivity ultimately cost them dearly, with Monaco extending their lead in the 56th minute through Kevin Volland.
The second goal made it almost impossible for PSG to pull things back. Instead, they ended up conceding another as Ben Yedder added more gloss to the scoreline by converting a penalty in the 84th minute. Here, at The Hard Tackle, we will run the rule over the PSG players following their shocking defeat to Monaco this weekend.
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 5/10
Gianluigi Donnarumma kept out multiple strikes on goal from Monaco, especially in the first half. However, a majority of those attempts were rather tame. When he was truly called into action, the goalkeeper had no answer for Wissam Ben Yedder and Kevin Volland’s shots, though he was quite unlucky to concede the third.
Again, Ballon D’or has blood in their hands for rating this Donnarumma ahead of Mendy pic.twitter.com/jYH5GLme9W
— ?????????? (@aa_adetomiwa) March 20, 2022
Achraf Hakimi: 5/10
It was a difficult game for Achraf Hakimi. He struggled in the right-back position, especially when dealing with Monaco’s high press. It invariably impacted his overall influence on the game, with the defender losing possession multiple times while offering very little going forward.
Marquinhos: 5/10
Marquinhos had a poor game by his standards. The PSG captain failed to lead his team by example and had struggles dealing with the threat of Ben Yedder. He lost out on multiple duels as well, leading to a plethora of chances for Monaco.
Presnel Kimpembe: 4/10
Presnel Kimpembe was another PSG defender that failed to impose his authority in the defensive third. He had issues dealing with the threat of Ben Yedder and fouled Volland late in the game to concede a penalty.
kimpembe you’re not that guy pal ? pic.twitter.com/uryPGdSglA
— nai?♀️ (@xnaimacf) March 20, 2022
Nuno Mendes: 4.5/10
Nuno Mendes had a poor game as well. The left-back made a crucial clearance early on in the game, but apart from that, he was not good enough defensively as he did not put in effort in stopping Youssouf Fofana’s cross for the first goal. He also got caught out of possession on multiple occasions whilst offering very little going forward.
Danilo Pereira: 4/10
Danilo Pereira was the weakest link in the PSG midfield. His presence was detrimental to the team as he looked quite uncomfortable in possession. It ended up affecting PSG’s build-up play, allowing Monaco to create numerous turnovers in the middle of the park. Simply poor from the Portuguese international.
Leandro Paredes: 4.5/10
Leandro Paredes was culpable for conceding possession that could have led to an early goal. The Argentine improved a bit afterwards, but he was nowhere close to finding his rhythm and replicating the form he showed against Bordeaux.
Marco Verratti: 4/10
Marco Verratti’s return to the starting eleven was a major boost for PSG. Unfortunately, the Italian had a difficult time dealing with the Monaco press as he uncharacteristically gave away possession rather easily on multiple occasions. His lack of influence made PSG struggle in transition, thus allowing Monaco to dominate the proceedings.
Georginio Wijnaldum: 2/10
It was yet another underwhelming performance from Wijnaldum. The former Liverpool midfielder offered nothing going forward and had little to no impact on the overall proceedings. The Dutchman somehow looks worse with each passing game for PSG.
Every time wijnaldum picks up the ball for Psg pic.twitter.com/rtfaIs4aVx
— Josh☁️ (@JoshFtb1) March 20, 2022
Kylian Mbappe: 5/10
It was one of those rare games where ever Kylian Mbappe struggled to make a difference. He missed a glaring opportunity to score a goal for PSG while also failing to make use of his pace and dribbling prowess in the final third. Not the best of matches for the Frenchman, who will not be too happy with the way things are going at PSG right now.
Neymar: 5/10
After a solid performance against Bordeaux, Neymar was quite underwhelming, to say the least. He was anonymous for a large portion of the game, failing to breach the defences of Monaco when needed. It appears the absence of Lionel Messi was truly felt for PSG here.
SUBSTITUTES
Mauro Icardi: 5/10
Mauro Icardi was not useful for PSG other than a late attempt on goal, which was brilliantly saved by Alexander Nubel.
Idrissa Gueye: 5/10
Idrissa Gueye replaced Wijnaldum to add more stability in central midfield. While the move certainly worked, the former Everton man lacked any form of creativity in his game.
Julian Draxler: N/A
A late replacement for Neymar. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Abdou Diallo: N/A
A late replacement for Mendes. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
