Edinson Cavani, Neymar Lead PSG Past Monaco to 13th Straight Ligue 1 Win

Paris Saint-German continued their perfect start to the 2018-19 Ligue 1 campaign, beating struggling AS Monaco 4-0 on Sunday. Edinson Cavani got a hat-trick and Neymar scored a penalty.

Cavani opened the scoring after just minutes, setting the tone for another easy win for PSG. He doubled his tally after 11 minutes and completed his hat-trick early in the second half. Neymar, who played a key role in the first goal and made life miserable on the Monaco full-backs all night long, scored his goal after 64 minutes.

Les Parisiens have won their first 13 matches of the season and appear to be cruising to another title.

Lack of Domestic Competition Will Doom PSG in Europe

PSG barely got out of second gear Sunday after taking an early lead through Cavani, setting up another easy win against a Monaco side that has arguably been the most disappointing club in European football this season.

The win marked Les Parisiens' 13th straight in the competition, a phenomenal feat the defending champions should rightly celebrate. But it also highlights the immense gap in quality between PSG and the rest of the league. Sportswriter Nick Harris shared this graphic showing just how uneven the playing field is:

While the fans likely won't mind things coming so easy for their team in France, the lack of competition is arguably the biggest thing holding this side back. PSG are virtually never troubled in France, and when they meet a top team in the UEFA Champions League, they too often seem unprepared.

It was the case against Liverpool earlier this season, and Napoli also managed to make Les Parisiens look uncomfortable.

Monaco is one of the few teams that has put up a fight to PSG at various points in the last few seasons. They should be pushing Les Parisiens to bigger and better things, but instead, their horrendous form will hurt the champions in the long run.

Henry Hire a Disastrous Mistake for Monaco

Monaco haven't won a match since August and have now lost three straight in all competitions. Prior to back-to-back draws in October, they had lost five straight.

This team is a complete mess, the result of numerous questionable decisions in the transfer market. The last thing they needed was a young and inexperienced manager, which is why the decision to hire Thierry Henry―who had no experience whatsoever as a head coach―was completely baffling.

As predicted, Monaco didn't put up much resistance Sunday:

Henry was let down by his supposedly top players against PSG, with Djibril Sidibe putting together perhaps the worst outing you'll see this season. The side was bereft of veteran leadership, and the youngster who showed the most promise in this contest, Jordi Mboula, went off with an injury after he himself replaced the injured Nacer Chadli.

The manager isn't ready to deal with all of this. Monaco needed someone who could help their impressive collection of youngsters develop during what is already a lost season, and instead, they hired a big name who still has plenty of growing to do himself. All this losing will hurt Henry's development as a manager as much as it will the players.

It's a disaster that was all too easy to predict, and Monaco have no choice but to ride this out.

What's Next?

PSG host Toulouse on November 24, the same day Monaco visit Caen.