Kevin Volland had passed by this season so far. The AS Monaco attacker was not used in the first three matchdays of Ligue 1. Well, in the away game at league leaders and defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, the former Hoffenheim and Leverkusen striker was allowed to play from the start, but was replaced after just over 20 minutes with an injury.
However, the short effort was enough to decisively influence the game against the unrivaled title contenders in France. First, in an early altercation with superstar Neymar, he provoked a yellow card for the Brazilian, who rudely knocked over Volland in the fifth minute of the game. Fifteen minutes later, the 30-year-old scored a low shot after a pass from Aleksandr Golovin to make it 1-0 for the outsider (20′).
His reaction already suggested that he had not only hit Paris with an impact and that there would probably be no more of him that day. While the teammates cheered euphorically, Volland made a face. He was injured when he scored a goal and had to be substituted.
PSG then needed a little time to build up the expected pressure and had a double chance just before half-time. After Lionel Messi hit the inside post in the final minute of the first half, Kylian Mbappé also had the aluminum in the way of his follow-up shot.
In the second period it was again a German who made life difficult for PSG. Alexander Nübel indicated his strong form with a save against Neymar (59th). The goalkeeper, who was loaned out by FC Bayern, could not be defeated on Sunday evening, at least from the game.
In the 70th minute, after Guillermo Maripan fouled Neymar, VAR gave a penalty, which the Brazilian converted to equalize. When Achraf Hakimi’s chance a little later, Nübel was lucky again that the Moroccan only hit the post (75th), but against Mbappé the 25-year-old showed all his skills again (84th) and captured the surprising point.
For the Parisians, it was the first loss of points on the fourth day of the game. After a weak start to the season, Monaco managed a respectable win with only two points from four games.
