Young German player in Ligue 1: Paris Brunner shoots Monaco to the top of the table

Former U17 world and European champion Paris Brunner shot AS Monaco to the top of the French Ligue 1 with two goals. In the 2-0 (1-0) win against Olympique Marseille, the 20-year-old scored in the 13th and 54th minutes, securing his team's second win in the second game. He was also named player of the game.

Brunner, once at Borussia Dortmund, led Germany to the title at the U17 World Cup in 2023. However, Brunner was unable to assert himself at BVB and did not play a single Bundesliga game. In 2024 he moved to Monaco, but was loaned to Cercle Brugge in Belgium for one season. Last season he was also unable to assert himself at Monaco and also suffered from a thigh injury towards the end.

However, things now seem to be going better. Brunner had already scored for Monaco in the qualifying round for the Conference League. He scored a goal in each of the two games against Górnik Zabrze (3:2 and 4:1), helping Monaco to take part in the league phase of the competition. There the club from the principality will meet, among others, SC Freiburg.

One for Klopp?

Is Brunner also a candidate for national coach Jürgen Klopp with his performance? "I always think about the national team," he said when asked: "My mother is Congolese and my father is German, but I don't concentrate on that. I'm just concentrating on my current achievements, we'll see the rest."

The French media also praised the German center forward. “Monaco defeats the OM thanks to the discovery of Paris Brunner and takes the lead in Ligue 1,” wrote the sports paper “L'Équipe”. The broadcaster RMC Sport celebrated Brunner as the “author of a wonderful double pack”. After two matchdays, Monaco is the only Ligue 1 team to have won both games. In the next championship game there will be a duel with the defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, who are still without a win.