Paris (AFP)

Stratospheric in Barcelona on Tuesday (4-1), Paris crashed without reaction at the Parc des Princes against Monaco (2-0) and let Lille take off at the top of Ligue 1 on Sunday for the 26th day.

Unrecognizable, PSG received a lesson, as it inflicted one on Barça, and fell to 3rd place, four lengths from Losc, and saw Monaco (4th) return to two points.

Unlike Paris, ASM remains aloft with an incredible series of nine wins and two draws which brought it back in the wake of its victim.

Nico Kovac found the formula, when Pochettino, who arrived in early January, is still looking.

One step forward at Camp Nou, one step back in the Park ...

The Principality's club largely deserved its victory, signed Sofiane Diop (6) and Guillermo Maripan (51).

His intense pressing completely extinguished PSG, which did not provide any clear opportunity.

We were far from Kylian Mbappé's hat-trick in Barcelona ...

So comfortable against the giants of Europe, Paris is definitely struggling against the greats of France this season.

He took only one point against the members of the leading square, a draw in Lille (0-0) and lost at the Parc against Lyon (1-0) and Marseille (1-0).

Already in the first leg, Monaco had won 3-2 in ascending to Louis II, a double from Volland and a penalty from Fabregas had reversed the match, after the double from Mbappé.

- Transparent Mbappé -

The Croatian technician still gave Mauricio Pochettino a tough quarter of an hour by inflicting his second defeat in France, after that in Lorient (3-2).

With Bayern Munich, he had already beaten 7-2 the Tottenham of the Argentine coach in C1.

Kovac will probably not attach importance to this statistical detail, however he will be satisfied to see that his defense did not concede a goal for the first time in the second leg.

For his part Pochettino, still deprived of Neymar and Angel Di Maria, injured, had chosen to give Marco Verratti a little rest, who started on the bench.

But his team lacked creativity without his "Little Owl".

And as Kylian Mbappé, transparent, was three time zones away from his hair-raising form on Tuesday, PSG produced almost nothing.

The world champion only collected a yellow, for a rough contact with Axel Disasi (90 + 3).

One of the rare ersatz thrills came from a long shot from Idrissa Gueye, nearby (35).

The Parisians buzzed the whole match around a disciplined Monegasque defense without ever managing to sting.

- Verratti substitute -

Marco Verratti might have delivered one of his magic passes to cross the hedge.

Entered in the 55th minute in place of Ander Herrera, he did not change the game.

Simply Paris had a little more the ball, but without more danger than a soft head of Moise Kean (60) or a strike above the same Italian (77).

Mauro Icardi, he was even more transparent than Mbappé.

Much more roaring, Monaco opened the scoring on its first beautiful movement, initiated by Wissam Ben Yedder.

On a good cross from Kevin Volland, Ruben Aguilar served full center Sofiane Diop whose diving header beat Keylor Navas.

In the 5th minute of the second half, ASM scored again, Maripan's fourth goal in eight games, not bad for a central defender!

What a contrast with Presnel Kimpembe, who had his head of bad days.

The vice-captain of PSG is involuntarily involved in Maripan's goal, an unfortunate billiard shot on his heel offers the ball to the Chilean - as well as the complicity of Herrera, amorphous at the time.

Ten minutes earlier, Kimpembe had received a warning for one of the angry tackles that make his reputation, on Aurélien Tchouameni, but a time too late (50).

A day without for "Presko".

Monaco even had a 3-0 ball, by Kevin Volland, passed along the post of Keylor Navas.

Tuesday, Paris is magic, Sunday, Paris is lethargic.

© 2021 AFP