Champions League knockout phase play-off second leg: Paris Saint-Germain vs Monaco facts

A stirring first-leg fightback has put holders Paris Saint-Germain in pole position to progress from their all-French tie in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-offs as Monaco come to Parc des Princes.

The home side seized control in the first leg at Stade Louis II on 17 February thanks to Folarin Balogun's early double (1, 18) but Paris were level before half-time despite Philipp Köhn saving Vitinha's penalty, Désiré Doué (29) and Achraf Hakimi (41) making it 2-2. Monaco lost Aleksandr Golovin to a 48th-minute red card and Doué's second (67) completed Paris' turnaround.

Holders Paris finished 11th in the league phase on 14 points (W4 D2 L2). Monaco reached this stage for the second season running by collecting ten points (W2 D4 L2), leaving them in 21st position.

Last match

The first leg was the teams' first European meeting.

Both clubs have previously faced French opposition in Europe: Paris defeated Brest 10-0 on aggregate at this stage of last season's Champions League (3-0 a, 7-0 h) while Monaco were eliminated 2-3 by Marseille in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup third round (2-2 h, 0-1 a).

Takumi Minamino's second-half goal gave Monaco a 1-0 home win against Paris in Ligue 1 on 29 November. The Parc des Princes return is scheduled for 8 March.

Monaco's success in November ended a run of three successive defeats – and five games without a win (D1 L4) – against Paris.

Paris 

This is Paris' 18th campaign in the Champions League proper. They have featured every season since 2012/13, reaching the knockout stages in the last 14 campaigns.

Fifteenth in last season's league phase (W4 D1 L3), Luis Enrique's side beat Brest (10-0 aggregate), Liverpool (1-1, 4-1 pens), Aston Villa (5-4) and Arsenal (3-1) to reach the showpiece in Munich, where their 5-0 win against Inter was the biggest final victory in European Cup history.

Monaco

This is Monaco's 11th appearance in the Champions League proper – last season was their first since 2018/19.

The French club finished 17th in the 2024/25 league phase (W4 D1 L3) before being eliminated by Benfica in the knockout phase play-offs (0-1 h, 3-3 a).

Key stats

Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer made 128 appearances, including 20 in the Champions League, across four seasons with Paris between 2018 and 2022.

Paris have lost only two of their last 13 European games (W8 D3).

Enrique has overseen eight wins in Paris' last ten knockout matches (L2).

Paris have won six of their last seven Champions League knockout ties, including all four in 2024/25.

The Parisiens have won 33 of their 40 European ties after a first-leg victory, including 19 out of 20 in which they were victorious in an away opening match.

Paris have won the second leg in five of their last seven Champions League ties (L2).

Last season's defeat by Benfica was Monaco's fifth successive two-legged loss in UEFA competition.

Monaco have won only two of their last 12 Champions League matches (D5 L5) – and only one of the last seven away (D2 L4).

Les Rouge et Blanc have won seven of 29 European ties after a first-leg defeat.

Balogun – whose first-leg double made him the first American to score twice in a Champions League knockout match – has five goals in his last six appearances in the competition.