By ,
Published February 05, 2015
Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Paris Saint-Germain will hope to get its domestic season on track on Sunday when Les Parisiens welcome fellow big- spenders Monaco to the Parc des Princes.
After coasting to its second consecutive Ligue 1 title last season, things have been a bit more difficult for PSG this time around.
The club has yet to lose a contest in Ligue 1 play, but it simply hasn't been firing on all cylinders and sits in fourth place in Ligue 1 with 14 points, five behind league-leading Marseille.
PSG's best result of the season came on Tuesday in Champions League group stage play as the club pulled off a 3-2 win over Barcelona at the Parc des Princes without the services of star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The home side opened the scoring against the Catalans after just 10 minutes when David Luiz fired home Lucas' free kick, but Barca answered almost immediately as Lionel Messi equalized after a nice exchange with Andres Iniesta after 12 minutes.
PSG edged back in front just before the half-hour mark as Thiago Motta took a corner. The Italian's ball to the back post took Barcelona goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen and found Marco Verratti to head home.
After the break Les Rouge et Bleu came out with the same attacking intentions. Released down the right, Gregory Van der Wiel drove an excellent cross into the middle where Blaise Matuidi arrived to drill the ball home past Ter Stegen for a 3-1 lead in the 54th minute.
But Barcelona came back again as Daniel Alves crossed from the right for Neymar in the area. The Brazilian controlled and fired home in the 56th minute, but PSG held on for a massive result.
"It was a great match, a great win. We needed the points. We enjoyed a great moment this evening," said PSG head coach Laurent Blanc. "The players were more focused and motivated than usual. All the ingredients were there for a great performance, but we still had to go out there and do it. I was convinced the team hadn't lost all its virtues. The most important thing for me tonight was to show that we are still a team."
"We celebrated a great match this evening against a great team that were undefeated and hadn't conceded a goal this season. We scored three goals, it was a great display and we're very happy," Matuidi said. "I scored but the most important thing was to win. It's a result that shows that Paris is a great team. We know that in the big games, we stand up. But the real sign of great teams is to do it every weekend. We will try to do it. Tonight was a victory for a whole team, a whole club."
It's been an underwhelming start to the season for Monaco as well as the principality club finds itself in 12th place with 10 points.
Monaco finished as runners-up last season behind PSG, but its been a different story this season as the club is struggling to find goals after the departures of James Rodriguez to Real Madrid and Radamel Falcao to Manchester United.
The club is winless in its last two matches across all competitions following a scoreless draw against Zenit in the Champions League on Wednesday and a 1-0 loss to Nice in league play on Sept. 9. A victory in the match that has been dubbed "El Cashico" due to the clubs' high-spending ways would go a long way toward restoring Monaco's form and confidence.
Also in Ligue 1 on Sunday, Lyon welcomes Lille to the Stade de Gerland, Guingamp battles Nantes, and Saint Etienne hosts Toulouse at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Saturday's action sees Caen hosts Marseille, Bastia face Lorient, Evian battle Metz. Nice welcomes Montpellier to the Stade Municipal du Ray, while Rennes hosts Lens at the Stade de la Route de Lorient.
On Friday, Odair Fortes scored just past the half-hour mark to lift Reims to a 1-0 win over Bordeaux.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/psg-hopes-to-get-on-track-against-monaco