At the close of last season, legendary football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) narrowly lost (1-0) its first-ever Champions League final, as the star power of Neymar and Mbappé was not enough to overcome powerhouse squad Bayern Munich. Now, PSG is licking its wounds after another disheartening blow — its 3-2 loss to Monaco on November 20, which ended the Parisian team's eight-match Ligue 1 winning streak and made it clear that, after several disappointing seasons, AS Monaco is once again a major force to be reckoned with.
A hard-fought victory against a top team
Monaco's 3-2 win over PSG was no foregone conclusion. For one thing, several of the club's best players were out of commission: captain Wissam Ben Yedder was forced to sit out the game after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, while goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte was also missing, having broken his hand in training, and midfielder Aleksandr Golovin is suffering from a hamstring injury. Early in the match against PSG, these absences seemed to be making their mark on the 4-4-2 press which has been extremely successful for Monaco so far this season. Indeed, PSG superstar Kylian Mbappé, back on the pitch after injuring his thigh during an October 31 showdown against Nantes, notched up two goals in the first half.In the second half of the captivating match, however, Monaco manager Niko Kovac relied on some inspired substitutions, including Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas and rising star Caio Henrique, to turn the tide—and turn the tide they did. AS Monaco's Kevin Volland, who Kovac deployed as a lone striker, quickly cancelled out both of Mbappé's goals, and Cesc Fabregas sealed the deal by effortlessly converting a penalty after PSG centre back Abdou Diallo fouled Volland with six minutes remaining on the clock.
Entering Monaco's Stade Louis II, PSG had won eight league games in a row, scoring 24 goals during that impressive run and only giving up a single goal. Leaving the principality's stadium, PSG's chances of reaching the Champions League knockout phase had narrowed, PSG coach Thomas Tuchel had serious reason to fear for his job, and it became clear that Monaco is enjoying its best season since it topped the Ligue 1 table in 2016/17.
Fruits of extensive investment and a new strategy
AS Monaco's stunning victory against PSG was particularly well-timed for the club's president and majority shareholder Dmitry Rybolovlev, who celebrated his 54th birthday over the weekend, as well as for Prince Albert II, who celebrated Monaco's national day on the eve of the fateful PSG match. Monaco's success, however, should not be a surprise to anyone who's been closely observing the new leaf which the team has turned over this season, spurred on by leadership from Kovac and sporting director Paul Mitchell, as well as Rybolovlev's close involvement in the club's decisions – according to local media reports, Rybolovlev had a very "firm discussion" with the club's managers after a 4-1 loss to Olympique Lyonnais earlier this fall.As Oleg Petrov, who was brought on as AS Monaco's Vice-President and CEO in February 2019 to help the team open a new chapter in its century-old history, recently explained in an interview with Monaco Matin, Rybolovlev's ambition is to ensure that the club is consistently able to perform at the highest level of European football. Hiring Petrov was one step in building the structure to allow AS Monaco to routinely top league tables.
Recruiting expert sporting director Paul Mitchell, known for his knack at spotting tomorrow's talent and for quickly whipping clubs into shape, was another—as was picking up Niko Kovac, a hiring decision which one football analyst recently dubbed "a masterstroke". Kovac appears to have hit on an effective balance between highly experienced players like Fabregas or Volland with rising stars like 22-year-old defender Axel Disasi and 20-year-old midfielder Sofiane Diop — a winning formula that was on full display during Monaco's dramatic victory over PSG.
The beginning of a new golden age for Monaco?
While PSG is barely clinging onto their Champions League hopes after a Neymar penalty secured them a 1-0 home win against RB Leipzig in the wake of their Monaco loss, Monaco's star seems to be shining ever brighter. The team is next slated to play Nîmes Olympique on Sunday November 29, again in Monaco's own stadium, where the club hasn't lost a single match this season.Even beyond this season, Monaco's young yet talented squad and the substantial investments it enjoys from billionaire owner Rybolovlev—work is already underway, for example, on the team's new £48 million training complex at La Turbie, which will feature everything from a medical centre to expanded facilities for academy scholars cultivated by the club—suggest that impressive performances like its second-half takedown of PSG could be increasingly common for the principality's team.
