Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - AS Monaco v Paris St Germain - Stade Louis II, Monaco - December 18, 2024 Paris St Germain's Ousmane Dembele scores their second goal REUTERS/Alexandre Dimou
MONACO, France - Ousmane Dembele scored twice as Paris St Germain secured a 4-2 away win over AS Monaco on Wednesday to stay unbeaten in Ligue 1 in a game that left their goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a gashed face 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 fullback’s studs caught him on the right cheek, with around a dozen staples used to close his wounds.
Donnarumma 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 in the 52nd minute and they then went ahead on the hour thanks to a classic poacher's finish from Breel Embolo, but the lead was short-lived as Dembele equalised four minutes later.
Goncalo Ramos made it 3-2 to PSG in the 83rd minute with a towering header from a corner and 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 to make it 4-2 in the seventh minute of added time.
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.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Toby Davis)
