PSG BACK ON TOP: DOUé, BARCOLA, AND RAMOS SECURE LEAD AS LENS BOTTLE LEAD
PSG are back on top: Discover how Lens threw away a two-goal lead to Monaco, handing Luis Enrique’s side a major title boost.
Lens kicked off the day one point clear of PSG at the top of the table. They looked set to stay there, leading Monaco by two goals in the second half until it all fell apart. In just a few chaotic minutes, they collapsed and suffered their first home defeat since August.
That stumble handed PSG a golden chance to jump back into first place. They didn’t waste it. Facing the league’s bottom team at Parc des Princes, PSG barely broke a sweat. Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola, and Goncalo Ramos all found the net.
Now PSG are two points ahead of Lens with 11 games to go. Lyon, sitting third, could close the gap to six if they beat Strasbourg on Sunday.
Luis Enrique, PSG’s coach, didn’t hold back when speaking to Ligue 1+. “The Lens are having an incredible season,” he said. “But we’ve still got 11 matches left, and we need to keep improving if we want to keep the title.”
Doue got a spot in the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the injured Ousmane Dembele and scoring twice in PSG’s 3-2 win against Monaco in midweek Champions League action. Against Metz, he wasted no time, scoring just three minutes in after a slick pass from Warren Zaire-Emery sent him clear from halfway.
PSG’s second goal came right before halftime. Metz keeper Jonathan Fischer managed to stop a Lucas Hernandez header, but Barcola was standing just about on the goal line to tap in the rebound.
Ramos could have made it 3-0 earlier in the second half, but he missed a golden chance. Later, though, he made up for it, smashing in his 11th goal of the season with less than 15 minutes left.
Enrique rested several key players with the looming second leg against Monaco on Wednesday. Dembele didn’t play at all.
Meanwhile, in Lens, Odsonne Edouard put the home team ahead just three minutes in, finishing off a pass from Adrien Thomasson. Lens was chasing a club record, an 11th straight home league win, and Florian Thauvin’s goal early in the second half made it look likely.
But Monaco had other ideas. Folarin Balogun pulled one back just after the hour mark, scoring his 11th of the season. That goal flipped the momentum. Denis Zakaria soon equalised, and then substitute Ansu Fati completed the turnaround with a third Monaco goal. Three goals in 11 wild minutes, suddenly, Lens were reeling.
For a team that came into the weekend with the best defensive record, Lens didn’t just lose; they unravelled. “That was stupid. We had the victory in our hands,” said coach Pierre Sage, clearly frustrated. “We’re very disappointed, but we can’t play the victim. This needs to be a lesson to help us grow.”
Monaco’s win moves them up to sixth, right back in the hunt for European football after a strong five-match run.
Elsewhere, Toulouse and Paris FC ended 1-1. Julian Vignolo scored late to deny Paris FC the win after Marshall Munetsi had put them ahead. Paris FC, despite the wealth of the Arnault family backing them, has just one win in its last 12 league games. By late Saturday, word was out that coach Stephane Gilli had been sacked, with ex-PSG boss Antoine Kombouare lined up as his replacement.
Marseille, sitting fourth, lost 2-0 at Brest on Friday in Habib Beye’s debut as head coach. Not the start he wanted.
VITINHA WARNS PSG TEAMMATES: "UNDERESTIMATE LIVERPOOL AT YOUR OWN PERIL" TONIGHT
PSG vs Liverpool preview: Vitinha recalls the 2025 final as PSG looks to repeat their Munich dominance at home.
Vitinha isn’t buying into the hype about PSG being the favourites against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals. Sure, he’s at the heart of the team that lifted the trophy in 2025, but he’s staying grounded. He pointed to Liverpool, fresh off a 4-0 thumping by Manchester City in the FA Cup, as a side you just can’t underestimate.
“Everyone knows how unpredictable these matches are. There’s no favourite,” Vitinha said before the first leg at Parc des Princes. “It’s Liverpool. They’ve got top players, and anything can happen. We’ve got two big games ahead, one in Paris, one at Anfield.”
He made it clear: PSG will go all out. “We’ll give one hundred per cent. We always play to win, and that’s not changing now.”
Last season, PSG knocked Liverpool out in the round of 16 on their way to the final in Munich, where they dominated Inter Milan. Vitinha, alongside Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz, controlled the midfield. In the final, he set up Hakimi’s opener with a smart pass through the Inter defence. Later in the match, he put together a slick move with Dembélé before assisting Doué for PSG’s third. By full time, PSG had put up a five-goal margin, the biggest ever seen in the final since the competition began.
“The feeling in the squad is amazing,” Vitinha said. “Big Champions League games like these are what we live for. We’re focused, but we know Liverpool is dangerous.”
Liverpool bounced back from that European exit by winning the Premier League, but this season they’re fighting to book another Champions League spot. Their manager, Arne Slot, isn’t getting distracted by how their season’s been going. “I don’t pay much attention to the league table right now. This is a huge challenge,” he's said. “City and PSG are very similar in their quality and style. A Champions League quarter-final is never routine, especially not against the defending champions.”
After facing PSG, Liverpool hosts Fulham in the Premier League. Meanwhile, PSG gets a bit more rest: French league officials rescheduled their game against Lens to give them extra time to prep for the second leg at Anfield in mid-April, a move Lens isn’t thrilled about.
Elsewhere, Wednesday’s other quarter-final first leg sees Barcelona play Atletico Madrid. So, the Champions League drama keeps going.
PSG BENEFITS FROM FRIDAY FIXTURE AS LIVERPOOL RECOVERS FROM SATURDAY’S HIGH-INTENSITY CLASH
PSG beats Toulouse 3-1 as Ousmane Dembele scores twice. See why Luis Enrique is confident facing Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
Liverpool’s got no time to catch its breath after losing to Manchester City on Saturday. Now comes the real test: Arne Slot’s team has to face the defending European champs next.
Honestly, after that 4-0 thumping at the Etihad, hope among Liverpool fans is pretty thin. The Champions League feels like the only shot at any kind of glory this season, but even that seems far-fetched right now. They’re heading to France to play PSG in the first leg of the quarter-final, and Luis Enrique’s squad had a way easier time this weekend.
While Liverpool struggled big time against Haaland and his crew, PSG cruised to a 3-1 win over Toulouse. Ousmane Dembele showed why he’s a Ballon d’Or winner; he scored two goals, one before and one after Toulouse’s strike. Then Goncalo Ramos sealed the deal in stoppage time.
PSG got to play on Friday, which means more rest and prep for the big Champions League clash. Enrique rotated his squad, resting three important players: Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, and Joao Neves started on the bench but got minutes later. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia left just before the 70th minute, and Desire Doue was subbed out near the end.
Dembele and Achraf Hakimi, who hit their 200th club appearance, played the whole match. PSG really benefitted from Lens losing 3-0 to Lille too, solidifying their spot at the top.
Enrique seemed pretty pleased after the win. He said grabbing those points was crucial, especially after the international break. Lots of players came back tired, but PSG handled it. Playing on Friday made things harder, but now they’ve got some downtime before facing Liverpool.
Still, PSG’s victory wasn’t flawless. Matvei Safonov, their keeper, fumbled a cross that led to Toulouse’s goal. So now there’s talk about whether he should keep his place against Liverpool or if Lucas Chevalier gets the nod.
PSG heads into Wednesday’s showdown full of confidence. Liverpool, honestly, needs something special to turn things around.
