Lionel Messi has been named Time magazine's "Athlete of the Year" for 2023 after a trailblazing season marked by an eighth Ballon d'Or award and his ground-breaking move to Major League Soccer's Inter Miami.
Paris Saint-Germain ground out a tense 2-0 victory away to Le Havre on Sunday courtesy of strikes by Kylian Mbappe and Vitinha, after 'keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saw red early on.
Newcastle must avoid defeat in the French capital to have any chance of reaching the last 16
Nice kept an eighth consecutive clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Toulouse on Sunday that keeps the Riviera outfit breathing down the necks of Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.
"Monaco are a team on the same level as us and also aspire to win the league, so it is a good result," said PSG coach Luis Enrique
A clinical Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain won 3-0 away to high-flying Reims on Saturday and moved to the top of the Ligue 1 table.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will be given a fierce reception on Tuesday when he faces crisis-club AC Milan at the San Siro for the first time since jumping ship for Paris Saint-Germain and becoming public enemy number one.
"It was difficult against a team that hadn't lost at home yet this season," said PSG's coach Luis Enrique.
PSG were eager to bounce back from their 4-1 defeat away to Newcastle United three weeks ago and they ultimately had too much attacking quality for their Italian visitors at the Parc des Princes.
Mbappe opened the scoring for PSG with a 10th-minute penalty and set up Carlos Soler to make it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark on a wet and windy day in Paris.
Pep Guardiola says Lionel Messi should have his own category at the Ballon d'Or but admitted the World Cup winner and Manchester City hotshot Erling Haaland would both be deserving winners of the prize.
The result left PSG with three points from two games in the Champions League Group F, and with questions to answer about their character and lack of a 'Plan B'.
A rampant Newcastle United put in a stellar showing to secure a superb 4-1 victory over French champions Paris St Germain in their first Champions League home match in 20 years on Wednesday.
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique played down concerns over the ankle injury which forced Kylian Mbappe off in the first half of his side's 4-0 win over Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
An obsession with winning the Champions League would only hurt Paris St Germain, manager Luis Enrique said on the eve of the Ligue 1 side's group-stage clash with Borussia Dortmund.
"Throughout the match they were fresher than us," said Luis Enrique after his first loss as PSG coach.
Paris Saint-Germain were hoping to complete a move for France striker Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday in what would be the biggest deal to go through on transfer deadline day in Europe.
Paris St Germain will kick off their quest for a maiden Champions League trophy in a strong Group F featuring Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Newcastle United following the draw on Thursday.
Kylian Mbappe dominated his first home start of the season, scoring twice as Ligue 1 champions Paris-Saint Germain defeated last season's runners-up Lens, 3-1, on Saturday.