Balogun Scores Off the Bench but Monaco Lose 3-1 to Paris FC
Folarin Balogun scored Monaco's only goal on Sunday, but Paris FC still won 3-1 in Ligue 1, France's top division. The Guardian reported that the defeat came after Paris FC scored twice just before half-time.
Balogun did not start. He came on at the break, replacing Paris Brunner, and he made his mark in the 66th minute. Vanderson sent a low cross across the penalty area, the ball played along the ground rather than in the air, and Balogun finished it. It was his first goal since the summer, when he scored in the United States' 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup.
That tournament was the first to feature 48 teams, and Balogun was one of its more productive attackers. He scored two first-half goals against Paraguay and added one against Bosnia. His movement also forced an own goal from Australia, when a defender put the ball into his own net under pressure. Only 10 players scored more than him at the tournament.
Balogun's numbers at club level are just as strong. In the 2025-26 season he finished with 19 goals and three assists, giving him 22 "goal contributions", a measure that counts goals plus the assists that lead to them. AS Monaco named him the club's most involved player that season. In Ligue 1 alone he scored 13 goals, which was fourth-best in the league.
The Guardian also reports that Monaco's manager, Filipe Luís, prefers 20-year-old Paris Brunner, a German youth international, to Balogun for now. Brunner has been in form. In August he scored in each half as Monaco beat Olympique de Marseille 2-0 to move top of the table, according to Reuters.
There was another thread too. According to the Guardian, Balogun broke off a possible move to Everton, the English club, after a visit to its training ground and a medical that he felt had been handled improperly. A medical is the health check a player goes through before a transfer is completed.
For Monaco, the question is simple to state. Balogun keeps scoring when he gets on the pitch, and the coach has to decide where he fits. Sunday's goal gave the club one moment to build on, but it did not change the result.
