MONACO: Ousmane Dembele scored twice as Paris St Germain came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away to AS Monaco on Wednesday in a game that left their goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnar­umma with a gruesome facial injury after a reckless challenge by Wilfried Singo.

Monaco defender Singo broke into the box in the 17th minute, but his lunge at Donnarumma resulted in the keeper suffering a number of ugly cuts as the fullbacks studs caught him on the right cheek, with around a dozen staples used to close his wounds.

“I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned but VAR needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” said PSG captain Marquinhos. “To not give a red in a situation like that, it’s a big call.”

The bloodied Italy international was replaced by Matvey Safonov in the 22nd minute, and two minutes later PSG took the lead as Achraf Hakimi went marauding down the right wing before pulling the ball back for Desire Doue to score with a simple finish.

Monaco levelled from the penalty spot through Eliesse Ben Seghir for a handball by Marquinhos in the 52nd minute and Maghnes Akliouche then crossed for Breel Embolo to poke them in front on the hour and put PSG’s record 31-game unbeaten Ligue 1 away run in jeopardy.

But Dembele equalised four minutes later and Goncalo Ramos headed in a corner shortly after coming on to swing the match back in PSG’s favour.

Fellow substitute Lee Kang-in had a late shot turned onto the right-hand post by Monaco keeper Philipp Koehn, who made a number of fine stops but couldn’t save his side from defeat.

Monaco coach Adi Huetter was sent off for protesting after his side were denied a late penalty before Dembele put the icing on the cake with a superb chipped finish in the seventh minute of added time and signal his return to form after reports of tension with PSG coach Luis Enrique in recent weeks.

The win sends PSG into the Ligue 1 Christmas break on 40 points, 10 ahead of second-placed Olympique de Marseille and Monaco, who are third on goal difference. The league resumes again on Jan 3.

“The objective was achieved. It was a difficult match, we weren’t up to par at all times, they knew how to come back and take the lead, but I’m happy with the result,” Luis Enrique said.

DONNARUMMA FACE INJURY

Luis Enrique, however, declined to criticise referee Francois Letexier for not sending off Singo for his dangerous challenge on Donnarumma.

“The refereeing decisions? I can’t do anything, I couldn’t see the action, but when you see an action like that it’s always difficult,” he said. “The players don’t intend to hurt. It’s difficult to referee this kind of match, I’m not talking about the refereeing work.”

Singo had been booked a few minutes previously, but French media reported that the referee saw the contact as incidental, rather than deliberate, and allowed him to remain on the field. He apologised to Donnarumma on Thursday.

“I’d like to apologise to Gianluigi Donnarumma. My act was obviously not intentional, but I was able to see afterwards that he had a serious injury to his face,” Singo wrote on Instagram.

He then addressed the shotstopper directly, saying: “I wish you a good recovery”.

Donnarumma will undergo “medical examinations on Thursday and will have to remain inactive for several days”, a statement from PSG said.

Footage published by PSG showed the two players greeting each other in the stadium after the final whistle, with the Italian telling the Ivorian: “Everything’s fine, no worries.”

Monaco announced Thursday that the defender has been subject to racist insults on social media in the aftermath of the incident.

“[Monaco condemns] in the strongest possible terms the unacceptable racist comments made about Wilfried Singo on social media after the match,” the club said in a statement. “Such behaviour has no place in sport, either on or off the pitch, and is totally at odds with the values that the club stands for.”

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2024