Driving rain at Estadio de l'Abbé-Deschamps made life tough for both teams, but the hosts were still able to fashion two early chances, with Danny Namaso hitting a powerful low drive agonisingly wide and Lassine Sinayoko rounding the goalkeeper after breaking forward, only to be let down by a heavy touch when the goal was gaping.
Those openings came either side of an opportunity at the other end for Folarin Balogun, who was set free on the left-hand side of the box, but clattered into the side netting.
Christophe Pélissier’s men, who had lost the past six H2Hs, had the upper hand, though, as evidenced by Sekou Mara seeing a 25-yard thunderbolt brilliantly hit shot tipped over the bar, while Josue Casimir should have done better with another strike that went wide of the near post.
Those misses left them open to a suckerpunch, which was duly delivered in the second minute of added time when Takumi Minamino ran onto a loose ball in the six-yard box and slotted home.
That goal came at just the right time for the Red and Whites, who could have made it 2-0 shortly after HT when Balogun curled over, before Auxerre’s night went from bad to worse as Casimir received a second yellow card for scything down Paris Brunner.
Monaco’s run of just two clean sheets in their last 16 away league games gave them hope though, and they equalised when Danny Namaso drilled a low cross into the danger zone, and it hit defender Mohammed Salisu, who was powerless to prevent it from rattling off his ankles and into the back of the net.
It was anyone’s game now, and the visitors thought they had been given a chance to retake the lead when Fredrik Oppegard was harshly penalised for a nudge in the back of Denis Zakaria, only for the referee to overturn his original decision of a penalty after VAR intervention.
Thilo Kehrer then hit the bar with a flicked header from a corner before Ilenikhena had a moment he will never forget, meeting Vanderson’s ball with a thunderous header that rifled into the net.
The result means Auxerre, who saw Ibrahim Osman have a late chance saved, have lost three games in a row in the league for the first time since September 2024, while their opponents make it back-to-back wins to draw level with PSG and Lyon on nine points at the summit of Ligue 1.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco)