At the beginning of the season, it was unthinkable to suggest that Paris Saint-Germain might not win Ligue 1, yet with barely two-thirds of the campaign remaining, the moneyed Parc des Princes side have not even tasted life at the top.
Nice’s surge has caught everyone off guard, just as Leicester did so spectacularly in the Premier League last season, but as their challenge falters under a weight of injury problems, it has been Monaco who have risen to the fore. And should the men from the craggy principality win Sunday’s meeting with PSG in the capital, they will suddenly become clear favourites to lift the crown.
Leonardo Jardim’s side have played a brand of blistering attacking football that they simply did not look capable of during the Portuguese coach’s first two seasons in charge and have scored more goals than any other side in Europe’s big-five leagues.
One man in particular has come to symbolise their resurgence: Radamel Falcao.
Twelve months ago, the Colombian appeared to be on the footballing scrapheap, destined to drift to China or the USA to play out the latter years of his career in lavish obscurity. One loan spell with Manchester United had already failed, and another at Chelsea proved even worse.
His return of five goals in 41 outings in England was an ominous sign that his career had terminally hit the skids, but he returned to Monaco determined to work harder than ever to regain his reputation.
“I’ve had to fight and work a great deal to come back,” he admitted on Friday. “Everyone at the club’s helped me and I thank them for that. My goal is to give the best to myself. It’s not revenge. It’s an opportunity to show that I can come back to my best.
“I need to play every regularly to be at my best level. I’m very happy here and it’s a pleasure to play with my team-mates. I’m 100% with Monaco and it’s my dream to win the title this year.”
The 30-year-old’s efforts have paid off spectacularly.
He may no longer possess the same blistering pace that helped him become arguably the world’s deadliest No.9 at Atletico Madrid, a symptom of the serious knee injury he sustained two years ago before he departed Monaco on loan to England, but he still commands the same keen eye for goal and an enviable work rate.
From 23 matches this season, the 30-year-old has earned a return of 17 goals. Among these have been his first strikes in the Champions League since 2010 and the winner in Wednesday’s Coupe de la Ligue semi-final against Nancy.
His role, though, has been more than just as a goalscorer. In a side that has switched its focus away from big-money signings to promising youngsters, he has taken on the captaincy and shouldered a burden of responsibility different to anything he has had in his career previously. And it is in this role he has particularly thrived.
“He scores and creates goals, but before everything this season, he’s been the leader that we needed,” Kylian Mbappe, Monaco’s sensational teenage attacking talent, dubbed ‘the next Thierry Henry’ explained. “We needed that and he’s assumed his role perfectly. We’re lucky to have a player like that in our squad.
“He shows us what an attacker must do. Personally, for a young player like me, there’s no other great attacker like him I would rather learn from at the highest level.”
But while the goalscoring eye of El Tigre has rediscovered its glare, he is being superbly aided from other sources, as was highlighted when Monaco beat PSG 3-1 when the sides met back in August.
Falcao missed that match with a hamstring problem, and in his absence Joao Moutinho and Fabinho were on target.
Indeed, of the starting XI that Jardim is likely to field at the Parc des Princes, only left-back Benjamin Mendy does not have a league goal to his credit this season. This ability to score from any position on the field is one of the chief reasons Monaco are average over three goals per game in Ligue 1.
It is, however, Falcao who is the leader of this impressive unit – both literally and metaphorically. If PSG want to win the title, it is the rampant Colombian they will need to stop first and foremost.
