PSG feasts thanks to the rhythm of Dembélé and Mbappe

Whilst Paris Saint-Germain were the favorites going into their home game against Monaco on Friday evening, the young team from the Principality had earned enough credit for few to believe that a convincing home win was forthcoming.

Luis Enrique has hardly set the world alight in his first months in charge at the Parc des Princes, and we all wait on the sidelines wondering to see if his bizarre criticism of Kylian Mbappe will lead to a problem down the line.

However, his team were firing on all cylinders on Friday evening as they eased to a 5-2 victory over Monaco, with Mbappe adding a goal and an assist.

The result takes PSG four points clear of Nice at the top of Ligue 1, although they have played a game more than them.

Has Luis Enrique stumbled upon midfield balance?

Losing Marco Verratti has badly damaged PSG’s midfield, and results this season have been evidence of that to this point.

However, in a 4-3-3 system the Asturian coach utilized Vitinha, Manuel Ugarte and Fabian Ruiz in an attempt to control possession and then be compact when Monaco were on the counter-attack.

It worked perfectly as the hosts grabbed the victory, with each of Luis Enrique’s starting midfielders playing an important role.

The midfield had an element of much-needed balance and after just 18 minutes of play they were ahead thanks to Goncalo Ramos.

The summer signing got on the end of a rebound inside the penalty area and powered the ball home from close-range.

Monaco, to their credit, weren’t deterred by this setback and actually equalized almost immediately. Gianluigi Donnarumma made a huge error and Takumi Minamino of Liverpool fame had the easy task of slotting the ball into the empty net.

Saves from Phillipp Kohn kept out Mbappe in the run up to half-time, although he would find the net from the penalty spot before the break, after a foul by Soungoutou Magassa resulted in a spot-kick.

Dembele gets in on the action

Ousmane Dembele made it 3-1 with 20 minutes left to play as he got on the end of a well-weighted pass and his powerful shot curled inside the right post, leaving Kohn helpless in the Monaco goal.

Mbappe then laid on an assist to the excellent Vitinha, who was able to curl a sumptuous effort into the top right corner of the net.

Monaco pulled a second goal back through Folarin Balogun, who rolled the ball beyond Donnarumma with an admirable air of coolness.

It was too little for Monaco to save any points, and their title hopes have taken something of a hit in recent weeks. Yet, for PSG, there are signs that Luis Enrique could have found a base from which to work in the run-up to Christmas.

The hosts rubber-stamped their victory with a fifth goal through Randal Kolo Muani in the seventh minute of stoppage-time.