Ligue 1: Determined AS Monaco power to victory vs. Brest

AS Monaco made it four straight league wins while extending their Ligue 1 unbeaten run to nine matches by defeating Brest 2-1.

The Match

Despite being without many key players due to injury and playing their third game in seven days, Philippe Clement’s men got the job done yet again, this time in a tough away clash at the Stade Francis-Le Ble.

Starting the match off pretty well against their relegation-threatened opponents, ASM enjoyed some promising chances while looking solid defensively as they settled into proceedings nicely.

Further opportunities flowed for the dangerous looking Les Monegasques before they eventually took the lead in the 39th minute when Aleksandr Golovin capped off a slick move with a tidy finish to continue his exceptional form.

The second stanza then began with each team sharing some chances, as Monaco looked to increase their advantage and Brest tried to equalise. It would be Monaco who struck next through Myron Boadu, however, who made no mistake after having a goal disallowed just minutes earlier.

Even though Brest halved the deficit five minutes from time courtesy of Jeremy Le Douaron, Monaco responded well to almost immediately restore their lead before fighting valiantly to deny the home side late to secure all three points.

Clement’s Debrief

“There are several lessons to be learned. But if I have to choose just one, I would say solidarity. Despite the injuries, all the players were ready to perform. At the start of the match, we felt the lack of automation between the players who were not yet used to being starters. But as the meeting progressed, the team gained confidence and broke free,” the Belgian explained.

“We didn’t deserve to concede that goal late in the game and we missed the chances to kill the game earlier. In recent months, we see that it is the whole group that brings energy, regardless of the players that line up. And it is a major asset that everyone is ready and thinks first of the collective before their own personal goals.

“The players showed great things today. We must continue week after week to confirm this dynamic and now focus on the match against Leverkusen.”

Defining Stats

By the numbers, the fact Monaco held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (1.81 to 0.99), big chances created (4 to 1), passes in the opposition half (217 to 140), tackles won (14 to 8), overall duels won (57 to 47) and successful dribbles (9 to 7) underlined they were good value for the win.

Up next 

Currently sitting third in Ligue 1 and riding the crest of a wave, next up for Monaco is their colossal Europa League second leg contest with Bayer Leverkusen, where they’ll hope to keep up their scintillating level and secure their passage into the next stage vs. Xabi Alonso’s exciting side.