Trophée des Champions: Ousmane Dembélé's late winner secures victory for PSG over Monaco 1-0

Paris Saint-Germain open the second half of their season with the Trophée des Champions against AS Monaco, an opponent they faced and defeated 4-2 only three weeks ago. It will be a perfect occasion for Luis Enrique's team to earn their first trophy this season. The final also marks the debut of a very busy January month that will see Paris play seven game, including a game against Manchester City in the Champions League, a must-win game if Les Parisiens want to qualify for the next round of the competition.

For this game chose to Luis Enrique chose to start with Ousmane Dembélé, Kang-In Lee and Désiré Doué to leqd the front line, with Bradley Barcola taking place on the bench. Gianluigi Donnarumma who suffered from an injury, three weeks ago makes his return in the starting lineup.

Paris Saint-Germain's starting XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Zaire-Emery, Vitinha; Doué, Kang-In Lee, Dembélé.

AS Monaco starting XI: Kohn; Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Caio Henrique; Zakaria, Golovin, Akliouche, Ben Seghir, Minamino; Ilenikhena.

PSG vs AS Monaco: Ousmane Dembélé's late winner secures victory for PSG over Monaco 1-0

In a fairly even contest between those two sides, the first real opportunity came from a misplaced pass from Monaco's goalkeeper Kohn. However, Désiré Doué ffailed to convert the chance with his shot hitting the crossbar (9'). The second opportunity for Les Parisiens came after an excellent team effort that saw Dembélé's effort being saved by Kohn, preventing the France international to open the scoring (21'). Just a few seconds later, Dembélé came knocking again but was denied once again by the German goalkeeper as Paris upped the tempo of the game, creating more chances for themselves.

Nonetheless, Monaco remained dangerous, enjoying some ball recoveries high on the pitch thanks to their well organised press. Donnarumma perfectly intervened for the first time of the half on Monaco's most dangerous attempt on his goal, following Akliouche's long range effort (39'). JJust before half-time, Lee Kang-In's saw his thunderous strike being tipped over the crossbar by Kohn (43') as both teams remained in a deadlock, as the French champions increased their pressure on Monaco.

Both teams went into the break following a goalless first half with the two very well organised sides with Paris finishing the half on the strong foot.

The second half started on a different dynamic with Adi Hutter's side being more dangerous on Donnarumma's goal, with Vanderson hitting the post following Ben Seghir's cross as the final became more open with both sides creating more chances. An incredible save from Kohn on Hakimi's close range effort kept Monaco in the game, as Les Rouges et Bleus pushed to open the score (73'). As the end of regular time approached, Kohn produced another splendid save to prevent Gonçalo Ramos to be the hero of the night. However, just a few moments later as the game entered injury time, Ousmane Dembélé finally broke the seal to put his side ahead (90+2'). The ninth goal of the France international this season proved to be the winner for PSG to secure their first title this season.