Paris Saint-Germain players celebrate with the French Champions Trophy after beating Monaco 1-0 at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday. REUTERS
DOHA — Ousmane Dembele's stoppage-time goal settled the French Champions Trophy on Sunday, giving Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win over Monaco in a fixture played in Doha.
PSG's troubles in front of goal this season have often cost it in the Champions League, and it was thwarted throughout this game by a combination of poor finishing and some fine saves by Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Kohn.
However, it was ultimately a deserved victory for Luis Enrique's team in Qatar, as PSG won the trophy — the French equivalent of a Super Cup or England's Community Shield — for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons.
"It was a great game between two teams who play good football," said PSG coach Enrique.
"The result is well deserved and reflects our domination against one of the best teams in France, and in Europe."
This fixture was supposed to be staged in Beijing on Aug 8 as the curtain-raiser to the French league campaign.
However, it ended up being called off, and Qatar — which owns PSG via Qatar Sports Investments — stepped in to stage the game.
It took place at Doha's Stadium 974, which hosted matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but it was not a sell-out for this game.
PSG won a clean sweep of the domestic honors in France last season, and was looking to claim the first leg of another treble in this campaign.
A 4-2 win away in Monaco last month, when Dembele scored a double, allowed it to finish 2024 with a 7-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 from Marseille, and 10 points above the principality club.
Key month
When Desire Doue pounced on a slack pass out by Kohn and sent a shot off the bar in the eighth minute, it looked like it was going to be a long evening for Monaco.
Vitinha sent a shot just wide and Lee Kang-in had a thunderous strike tipped over by Kohn, although Monaco also threatened when a Maghnes Akliouche hit was turned away by PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Eliesse Ben Seghir also tested the Italy captain shortly after the break, and defender Vanderson hit the post from a tight angle for Monaco, but PSG stepped up the pressure as the second half went on.
The game looked to be heading to penalties, before the goal came in the 92nd minute.
Substitute Fabian Ruiz was released down the left and sent a low ball across the penalty area for Dembele to convert at the far post.
It is the perfect start to a huge month for PSG, which will notably see it face Manchester City in a crunch Champions League fixture on Jan 22.
Monaco also has a key few weeks ahead of it, including games against Aston Villa and Inter Milan, as it too seeks to progress to the knockout stage of the Champions League.
"A goal in the last minute always feels like being stabbed in the back," said Monaco's Austrian coach, Adi Hutter.
"But, being honest, PSG deserved to win.
"They had more chances."
AFP
