Monaco topples sluggish PSG in blow to title hopes
Paris Saint-Germain crashed back to earth with a bump after its UEFA Champions League heroics as it suffered a 2-0 Ligue 1 defeat to Monaco on Monday (AEDT).
Mauricio Pochettino's side claimed a stunning 4-1 win over Barcelona in the first leg of its last-16 tie on Wednesday (AEDT), but it never looked like scaling those heights as they slumped to a sixth league defeat of the season.
Sofiane Diop's sixth goal of the campaign handed Monaco an early lead before Guillermo Maripan put the game beyond the hosts' reach shortly after the interval.
The result means third-placed PSG is four points behind leader Lille, which beat Lorient 4-1 earlier in the day, with Niko Kovac's Monaco two points back in fourth.
Monaco went ahead after just six minutes, Diop heading past Keylor Navas from six yards after Kevin Volland nodded Ruben Aguilar's cross into his path.
That did little to spark PSG into life, and the home team struggled to carve out any clear opportunities in the first half.
The closest they came was when Idrissa Gueye's powerful drive from distance flashed past Benjamin Lecomte's right-hand post.
Things did not get any better for PSG after the interval as Maripan dispossessed Ander Herrera in the penalty area before slotting a fine finish past Navas from 15 yards to double Monaco's advantage in the 51st minute.
Volland inexplicably headed wide from four yards soon after, but it mattered little in the end as Monaco held on to stretch its unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to 11 games.
