American forward Folarin Balogun took less than one minute to give Monaco the lead against Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League playoff on Tuesday, and added a second goal less than midway through the first half.
He still ended up on the losing side as defending champion PSG rallied from 2-0 down to take a 3-2 lead back to Paris for the second leg next Wednesday. The winner advances to the last 16.
There was only 55 seconds on the clock at Stade Louis II when Balogun headed in a precise cross from the left by Aleksandr Golovin.
Balogun scored again to make it 2-0 in the 18th when PSG lost the ball and Maghnes Akliouche threaded a fine pass behind the defense for Balogun to fire confidently past hesitant goalkeeper Matvei Safonov.
“It was a positive start. If someone had said we’d be 2-0 up within 20 minutes, we’d have taken it,” Balogun said. “But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. We’re a bit annoyed, but we’re alive and we have to focus on the second leg.”
It was a club-leading 10th goal of the season for the 24-year-old player who briefly broke into the Arsenal team six years ago before being sold to Monaco.
He almost had a chance for a hat trick late in the first half. But after running the forward line on his own he looked tired when he was replaced by Mika Biereth in the 83rd minute.
PSG was under some pressure heading into the game after a sixth defeat of the season on Friday led to an outburst by star striker Ousmane Dembélé questioning the attitude of his teammates.
Dembélé came off midway through the first half with what appeared to be a left calf injury.
PSG beat Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the playoffs last season.
Although PSG is heavy favorite to advance, Balogun remains confident of an upset.
“It would absolutely be the wrong mentality to go there thinking that the tie is done,” he said. “The most important thing is having a good start. If we get the first goal, we’re level. The tie is definitely still alive.” ___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer