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Chelsea take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next week with the holders suffering a major blow before the European clash
Former Chelsea star Denis Zakaria captained AS Monaco to a 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Friday night. The Blues' upcoming Champions League opponents had the chance to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to seven points, but were instead beaten 3-1 on home soil.
Monaco goals from Maghnes Akliouche, Aleksandr Golovin and ex-Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun sealed their victory with Bradley Barcola's strike at the Parc Des Princes merely a consolation. Chelsea are set to visit the French capital next Wednesday for the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Luis Enrique went relatively strong in their final game before a rematch of the Club World Cup final, with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia each playing 60 minutes from the start, while Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi played the full game.
Other key players such as Marquinhos and Ousmane Dembele were on the bench, though the latter did come on for the final half hour, having missed the last few weeks with injury.
With no midweek action remaining after European elimination at the hands of PSG, Monaco went strong, which included Zakaria starting in the middle of a back three. The Switzerland international made 11 appearances for Chelsea during the 2022/23 on a season-long loan from Juventus.
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Injury problems was one factor that prevented him from playing more at Stamford Bridge, with similar issues impacting him for the first part of this campaign. However, since the turn of the year, he has featured consistently and been integral in Monaco's seven-game Ligue 1 unbeaten streak.
Speaking after the huge win, he said: "Brilliant [victory], yes. I think it’s a very, very good match. We came here to take the three points and today we put in a big performance. We’re very pleased with the victory.
Chelsea could have ended up facing Monaco at the last-16 stage, but they were beaten 5-4 on aggregate by the Parisians in the play-off round.
On that specifically, Zakaria added: "Yes, we knew we could have advanced against PSG. That said, we're not going to dwell on regrets. Today, it was important to us to get revenge on the previous match. That's done, and we're thrilled with the victory."
While also sealing revenge, Monaco and Zakaria look to have impacted PSG's momentum heading into their two-legged European knockout against Chelsea.
Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round is the immediate focus for Liam Rosenior and his players however, as they head to the Racecourse Ground in Wales on Saturday evening.
Chelsea will be hoping to continue the momentum built from their huge 4-1 win in the Premier League against fellow top-five rivals Aston Villa on Wednesday evening.
That victory at Villa Park was an important one for the west Londoners having lost to Arsenal and dropped points at home to Burnley and Leeds United in recent weeks.
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