PARIS (AP) — Mamadou Coulibaly's red card cost his side dearly as Monaco drew 2-2 at defending champion Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League playoff on Wednesday and went out 5-4 on aggregate.
Monaco was leading 1-0 and the aggregate score was level at 3-3 when the 21-year-old midfielder was shown a second yellow card in the 59th minute following a foul on tricky winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
PSG captain Marquinhos equalized from the ensuing free kick and then six minutes later Kvaratskhelia put PSG 2-1 up and in command. Jordan Teze’s stoppage-time equalizer came too late for Monaco.
“Yes, I think it was (a turning point) as was the (red) card in the first match,” Monaco coach Sébastien Pocognoli said. “For me the (sending off) was not deserved. The two yellow cards happen quickly within five minutes. The second one was harsh.”
PSG won the tournament for the first time last year, but prior to that had been eliminated from the last 16 five times in eight years. Until Coulibaly's sending off, PSG had looked jittery and Monaco was beginning to take control of the game.
“We’re staring to know them. We beat them (1-0 in the league) and lost and drew against them with 10 players,” he said referring to Monaco's red card early in the second half last Tuesday. “We’re searching for their weaknesses amid their immense qualities. I think we did that pretty well, we made the most of what they gave us.”
But Coulibaly's late tackle on Kvaratskhelia near the touchline turned the momentum PSG's way.
Moments later, PSG were level.
A quick free kick was played down the right and Marquinhos poked home Désiré Doué’s cross from close range.
Kvaratskhelia scored from close range after Philipp Köhn parried a 20-meter shot from right back Achraf Hakimi into his path. Hakimi was playing a day after being ordered to stand trial in a rape case on Tuesday.
Monaco led 2-0 in the first leg last week before capitulating through poor defending, and took the lead again at Parc des Princes when fleet-footed winger Maghnes Akliouche scored just before halftime.
Monaco switched play from right to left and Brazilian left back Caio Henrique passed inside to Coulibaly, who set Akliouche up for a side-footed finish which went in off the left post.
Coulibaly had missed a great chance early in the game when he side-footed over from close range after Akliouche did brilliantly to break into the penalty area down the left and tee him up near the penalty spot.
“I have two sentiments. First, a sense of pride. I told my players that if we could make PSG doubt that would already be a success,” Pocognoli said. “Secondly, I’m a bit frustrated. If we had finished with 11 players, what would have happened?”
PSG coach Luis Enrique acknowledged that his side struggled at times.
“We’re not used to teams coming here and playing like we do. It was very difficult in the first half,” he said. “But what we have shown this season is our resilience and ability to come back.”
PSG faces either five-time champion Barcelona or two-time winner Chelsea in the last 16.
Akliouche is playing for a place in France's World Cup squad and his performance may well have boosted his chances of getting in.
The skilful 24-year-old midfielder broke into the France team last September and scored against Azerbaijan two months later.
Last season, he scored a stunning overhead kick for Monaco in a Ligue 1 game, rising to meet Vanderson’s cross from the right and twisting in mid-air to volley the ball in with his left foot.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche scores during a quarterfinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.((AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Monaco's Mamadou Coulibaly, left, and PSG's Nuno Mendes fight for the ball during a Champions League second leg playoff soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco in Paris Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Monaco's Mamadou Coulibaly receives a red card during a Champions League second leg playoff soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco in Paris Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI served search warrants Wednesday at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s headquarters and the home of its leader, a former Superintendent of the Year who was knighted by Spain for his work.
The nature of the federal investigation involving the nation’s second-largest school district and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho’s home was not immediately clear. The district said in a statement that it “is cooperating with the investigation and we do not have further information at this time.” The FBI also searched a third location near Miami, where Carvalho previously led the public schools.
TV news footage showed agents in FBI shirts and jackets outside Carvalho’s home in the San Pedro neighborhood about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of downtown LA. There was no visible sign of agents outside the LA district's headquarters as of mid-morning.
Rukelt Dalberis, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, confirmed that agents were at the properties to serve warrants but declined to comment further because affidavits laying out details for the basis for the searches were under seal.
Before taking the helm of the Los Angeles district in 2022, Carvalho oversaw Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida’s largest school district, from 2008 to 2021. During his tenure, he was credited with improving graduation rates and academic performance. The national superintendents association named him Superintendent of the Year in 2014, and Spain knighted the Portugal-born administrator in 2021 for his work in expanding Spanish-language programs for Miami-Dade County schools.
In California, Carvalho has stood out as a harsh critic of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown, especially following raids in Los Angeles last year. When its 500,000 students returned to classes in the fall, Carvalho urged immigration authorities not to conduct enforcement activity within a two-block radius of schools.
“I would be the biggest hypocrite in the world, regardless of my position today, if today I did not fight for those who find themselves in the same predicament I faced over 40 years ago when I arrived in this country at the age of 17 as an undocumented immigrant,” Carvalho said at a news conference last year.
Carvalho arrived in Los Angeles at a critical moment, as the district found itself flush with funding from state and federal COVID-19 relief money but still struggling with the impacts of the pandemic, including learning losses and declining enrollment. He previously sparred with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over his order that schools not require masks during the pandemic.
Officials with the Miami-Dade school system did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on whether the FBI or other federal agencies have contacted them regarding Carvalho.
James Marshall, an FBI spokesman in Miami, told the AP that agents searched a residence in Southwest Ranches, which is in Broward County west of Fort Lauderdale, on Wednesday morning and “have since cleared the scene.” He said no further information was available.
Wednesday's search was the second time in a week the Justice Department has taken action against the LA school district. On Feb. 19, the Trump administration joined a lawsuit alleging that the district discriminates against white students under its decades-old desegregation policy.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s office said it had no information about the search, noting the public school system operates independently of city government.
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Tucker reported from Washington and Watson from San Diego. Associated Press writer Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also contributed to this report.
Media stage outside the home of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in San Pedro, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
outside the home of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in San Pedro, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Photos of board members decorate the walls inside LAUSD headquarters Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The exterior of LAUSD headquarters is shown Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The exterior of LAUSD headquarters is shown Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
People stand in the lobby of the LAUSD headquarters Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Media stages outside LAUSD headquarters Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
FILE - Los Angeles District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, at podium, holds a news conference as SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias, left, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, listen, in Los Angeles City Hall, Friday, March 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
