Cavani's hat-trick leaves Henry's Monaco in crisis
Thierry Henry's disastrous start as Monaco coach continued as Edinson Cavani's hat-trick, assisted by the video assistant referee (VAR), helped Paris Saint-Germain cruise to a 4-0 win in the principality that saw them extend their perfect record in Ligue 1 this season.
Neymar netted a penalty to complete PSG's victory, as they made it 13 wins from 13 league games under Thomas Tuchel, further stretching their start to the season that is a record in France and in Europe's top five leagues.
The result for them came after a week marred by revelations from French investigative website Mediapart that youth scouts at PSG had subjected potential signings to racial profiling over several years.
But while they go 13 points clear of second-placed Lille at the Ligue 1 summit, the club who have been their main challengers in recent seasons continued their worrying slump, with Henry again left to look on helplessly from the touchline.
Champions in 2017, Monaco are in the relegation zone and five points away from safety, having failed to win in six matches in all competitions since the Arsenal great took charge.
They have now gone 16 games without a win altogether, with this result following a 4-0 home reverse against Club Brugge which knocked them out of the Champions League.
They are also on their worst run in France's top flight in 32 years.
"We are playing for survival, nothing else," said Henry, who has picked up a squad cursed by injuries.
He was missing a dozen players due either to injury or suspension at kick-off, while both Belgian international Nacer Chadli and his replacement Jordi Mboula had to come off hurt.
"We lost two more players tonight, so it is starting to become a lot," he said.
"I am staying positive because even with all that we managed to create chances against PSG."
The average age of his bench was under 19, while his starting line-up featured a 17-year-old debutant in defence in Benoit Badiashile. - AFP
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