Paris Saint-Germain welcomed AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes on Sunday in what was the biggest game of the Ligue 1 season so far.
The champions could have moved to the top of the table with a home win, while the league leaders were looking to maintain their strong start to the campaign.
Neither side could find a winning goal which means that they both remain unbeaten after a draw.
Read how the action unfolded in our live commentary below.
Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage from Parc des Princes where Paris Saint-Germain host AS Monaco in Ligue 1.
Well this is it, the big one. PSG vs. Monaco is without a doubt the first match that everyone looked for once the fixture list was released as it pits these two uber-rich title challengers against one another. It's champions vs. league leaders, undefeated vs. undefeated with the winner of tonight's match being rewarded with a spot at the head of the Ligue 1 table.
A win for the hosts will put them a point clear of tonight's opponents at the top of Ligue 1, while Monaco could stretch their lead and go four points clear with a victory.
After a slow start to the season, PSG have been insatiable in recent weeks. They drew with Montpellier HSC and Ajaccio in their opening two matches, but since then Laurent Blanc's side have beaten Nantes, Guingamp and Bordeaux in the league, and come into this game off the back of a huge 4-1 win at Olympiacos in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Monaco got off to a flyer with a 2-0 win at Bordeaux on the opening day before smashing Montpellier 4-1 the following week. They then dropped their first points of the season following a goalless draw at Toulouse before getting the better of title rivals Marseille and then Lorient.
Much of the talk going into this match is about the expensive talent on display. Both side's signed a striker for £55m in the summer, with Monaco's total spending accumulating to £130m. Meanwhile, PSG's squad was assembled for a cool £253m.
Right, let's bring you the team news.
PSG XI: Sirigu, Van der Wiel, Marquinhos, Silva, Maxwell, Motta, Matuidi, Verratti, Lavezzi, Cavani, Ibrahimovic
Blanc makes one change to the side that beat Olympiacos in the week. Lucas, who has been struggling with his fitness over the past few days, drops to the bench with Ezequiel Lavezzi taking his place on the left wing.
Alex is still unavailable for PSG, so £27m signing Marquinhos starts at the heart of the defence alongside Thiago Silva. Edinson Cavani will operate on the right wing, with Lavezzi on the left either side of Ibrahimovic.
PSG BENCH: Douchez, Camara, Jallet, Lucas, Menez, Pastore, Rabiot
Strong options on the bench for Blanc should he need them, with Lucas, Pastore and Menez all attacking possibilities.
Right, and now the away side.
MONACO XI: Subasic, Fabinho, Carvalho, Abidal, Kurzawa, Carrasco, Kondogbia, Moutinho, Obbadi, Ocampos, Falcao
Claudio Ranieri has named an unchanged team following their slender victory over Lorient last time out. There is still no place in the starting lineup for top scorer Emmanuel Riviere, while James Rodriguez is also rooted to the bench.
Captain Eric Abidal and Ricardo Carvalho make up the heart of the defence, with Monaco's final summer signing Geoffrey Kondogbia sat just in front of them. Joao Moutinho will act as the playmaker, and look to feed the goal-hungry Falcao.
MONACO BENCH: Romero, Isimat-Mirin, Raggi, Tisserand, Pi, Rodriguez, Riviere
Former PSG man Mamadou Sakho is currently on the pitch as he officially bids farewell to the Ligue 1 champions. He left to join Liverpool on transfer deadline day in search of regular football ahead of the World Cup, but he has said that his adventure with PSG "isn't over yet".
I cannot wait for this clash, and I'm sure that you can't either. Neither side has tasted defeated this season, both has spent tons of money, and both are gunning for the title. Something has to give at the Parc des Princes tonight.
Both sides are in the tunnel, we're nearly ready to go.
It's the Ligue 1 champions vs. the Ligue 2 champions, and Monaco will have kick off.
KICKOFF! Monaco, playing from left to right, get the game underway.
PSG are wearing their all-navy home strip with white and red squares, while Monaco are sporting their home kit of red and white shirts, white shorts and white socks.
Monaco have had most of the ball since kick off, and are being booed when in possession by the home fans.
Falcao is penalised for bringing down Matuidi, when it looks as if he got most of the ball.
GOAL! Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 AS Monaco (Zlatan Ibrahimovic)
PSG strike first and it's their main man Ibrahimovic with the goal. Silva plays a lovely long ball to the wing, where Maxwell darts down the flank before putting in a great cross to the near post. Subasic comes to catch it, but the Swede gets there first and stabs it home with his heel in midair.
It was a really good bit of play by PSG, and Monaco find themselves behind for only the second time this season. The last time they trailed, they fought back to beat Marseille 2-1.
This is going to be a game for the full-backs, with all four of them keen to bomb forward for their side on every occasion.
As I say that, Fabinho skins Matuidi before being hacked down by the Frenchman.
Big blow for PSG as Thiago Silva looks as if he is unable to continue.
PSG CHANGE Silva is forced off with injury, and Blanc brings Camara on to partner Marquinhos.
Monaco have started to enjoy a bit more attacking possession in the last few moments. Kondogbia picks up the ball just left of centre from about 30 yards out and has a pop at goal. However, his rocket flies high over the bar.
Corner to Monaco.
GOAL! Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 AS Monaco (Radamel Falcao)
Monaco have an equaliser and it's a really brave goal from Falcao. Moutinho's initial corner was dealt with, before he put in a second cross low to the near post. Camara goes flying at the ball with his boot, but Falcao opts to dive in with his head, and practically heads it in off the floor.
Falaco has already got the better of 34-year-old Camara since he came on. That could be a big worry for PSG.
SAVE!Ibrahimovic nearly put PSG back ahead with a wonderful half-volley from 30 yards out, which forces Subasic to parry it behind for a corner.
That Falcao goal now means that he has five for the season, and puts him level at the top of the scoring charts with teammate Emmanuel Riviere and Evian TG's Kevin Berigaud.
CHANCE! Kurzawa has the ball on the left touchline and puts a cross into the box. It falls to Carasco, but he blazes his shot over the bar.
CLOSE! Cavani is played in on the right following a beautiful Ibrahimovic first-time flick. Cavani bares down on goal and opts to shoot early from just inside the box, but his fierce low effort is dragged just wide of the far post.
Matuidi uses some skill on the left to turn away from Fabinho before being bundled over by Kondogbia. The free kick is given on the left of the penalty area. Chance.
Ibrahimovic takes it and hit it towards the far post, but it goes out of play for a goal kick.
10 minutes until the break, and the game is very finely poised at the moment. It's incredibly even and very enjoyable.
YELLOW CARD Fabinho is the first to go into the book after bringing down Lavezzi. The winger had left him for dead before winning the free kick.
The free kick is in almost an identical position to before. Lavezzi to take this.
CLOSE! Ibrahimovic should score here. Lavezzi's free kick finds the current skipper on the edge of the six-yard box unmarked. However, he can only power his header over. Should have done better.
YELLOW CARD Marquinhos, after making four fouls already, goes into the book for hauling down Carrasco on the edge of the box.
Falcao is over this one, which is right of centre about five yards from the edge of the box.
CHANCE! Falcao takes his time before trying to bend it round the wall towards the near corner, but it goes wide.
CHANCE! What an earth has Ibrahimovic done here? He is played clean through on goal on the left of the box. He cuts inside and tries to shoot on his right, but takes too long and opts to chip it towards the late-arriving Lavezzi but gets too much on it and it goes out for a goal kick. Huge chance for PSG, and Ibrahimovic should have just gone for goal and would probably have scored.
We will have one minute of added time.
Late pressure from PSG, but Monaco are holding their own for now.
HALF TIME: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 AS Monaco
It's tight but it's been a great first half. Ibrahimovic put the hosts ahead in the fifth minute, before PSG lost captain Silva through injury. Falcao then levelled up the match in the 20th minute.
Both sides have since had chances and could both be ahead. I cannot wait for the second half.
Let's bring you some half-time stats.
Match statistics:
Paris Saint-Germain:
Shots 1
On target 8
Possession 56%
Corners 3
Fouls 8
AS Monaco:
Shots 7
On target 2
Possession 44%
Corners 1
Fouls 7
The teams are back out at Parc des Princes and we're ready for the second half.
KICKOFF! PSG, playing from left to right, get the second half underway.
No chances yet in this second half. We've had a few decent crosses, but nothing that either keeper hasn't been able to deal with.
SAVE! Awesome stop from Subasic to deny Ibrahimovic. Lavezzi twists away from Abidal on the left before firing a low pass across the face of the six-yard box. Ibrahimovic is at the near post and flicks the ball towards goal, but Subasic can save it with the inside of his leg and watches the ball roll behind for a corner.
PSG have started this second half the better, but Monaco are still level at the moment.
CHANCE! As I say that, Monaco have a great opportunity to go ahead. Fabinho whips a brilliant cross into the area, where the ball falls to Carrasco. However, he mishits his shot and flies wide of the near post after coming off his heel.
Brilliant run from Blaise Matuidi, who steams through the middle of the field to get on the end of an Ibrahimovic pass into the area, but Kurzawa is able to get back across and make a crucial tackle. Matuidi is certain he should have a corner, and berates the referee for not getting one.
Motta is penalised for hanging onto Moutinho. Monaco now have a free kick in between the left touchline and the box.
The delivery comes off Kondogbia, and heads out for a goal kick. Looks as if Lucas is about to come on.
MONACO CHANGE Geoffrey Kondogbia is brought off, and James Rodriguez comes on.
PSG CHANGE A bit of a surprise here as Lavezzi is taken off, despite being very impressive so far today. Lucas is on for the final half an hour.
YELLOW CARD Obbadi is booked for closing down a free kick too soon. The Monaco wall didn't even look the full 10 yards, and Obbadi was only about six yards away when Ibrahimovic thumped it.
The Monaco wall, which still doesn't look 10 yards, stands firm to block shots from Ibrahimovic and Lucas.
Lavezzi is nursing some heavy strapping on his left knee on the bench, which may explain why he was brought off. He was one of the best players today, along with Marco Verratti.
Rodriguez picks the ball up on the edge of the box before shooting at goal, however, his shot is straight down the throat of Sirigu.
Carvalho bundles over Cavani to concede a free kick. It looks as if he will take this one from about 25 yards out just right of the D. Perfect position.
It's a real waste from Cavani, who is struggling to get involved on the wing. He slams it low and hard straight into the wall before losing possession.
Lucas has a go at goal on the edge of the box, but fails to hit the target.
PSG CHANGE The impressive Verratti has been replaced by the attack-minded Jeremy Menez.
MONACO CHANGE Fabinho is replaced by Andrea Raggi.
Kurzawa turns inside a crowded PSG box and gets his shot through a number of bodies. Sirigu must see it late, but he is able to hold onto the effort.
With that Menez introduction, Blanc has deployed a 4-4-2 formation.
Riviere looks as if he is about to come on for Monaco.
Lucas races forward and hits another long-range shot for PSG. But this effort also flies over the bar.
It looks as if Ranieri has changed his mind about Riviere. The striker was stripped and ready to come on, but is now back on his seat.
Falcao receives a pass on the edge of the box, but can only curl an effort over.
MONACO CHANGE Pi is on for Obbadi.
Can either side find a late winner? We've got just a few minutes to play.
We'll have four minutes of stoppage time.
SAVE! Cavani thinks he has netted the winner when he brilliantly brings down Matuidi's chip into the box before hitting a shot on the swivel. However, Raggi and Subasic combine by throwing themselves at the ball to make a dramatic block.
PSG are turning up the heat for the last few minutes. Maxwell gets forward down the left and fizzes in a cross that Abidal heads behind.
CHANCE! Cross comes in from Lucas on the left towards the near post, where Cavani gets to the ball first and heads towards the near corner. However, the effort flies just wide.
YELLOW CARD Ocampos goes into the book for time wasting.
FULL TIME: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 AS Monaco
So neither side can find a winner, and both are still unbeaten in Ligue 1 this season. No goals in the second half means that Falcao's equaliser was enough to earn Monaco a good point after Ibrahimovic had given PSG an early lead.
Let's take one final look at the match stats.
Match statistics:
Paris Saint-Germain:
Shots 17
On target 3
Possession 58%
Corners 6
Fouls 15
AS Monaco:
Shots 14
On target 4
Possession 42%
Corners 2
Fouls 17
Well that's it from me. I hope you enjoyed the match. Until next time, it's goodbye.
Written by
Matt Cotton
Matt Cotton
