Analysis: Majecki the hero in AS Monaco’s dramatic Cup win over Lens
Making his first appearance for AS Monaco this campaign, Radoslaw Majecki made the most of his opportunity by putting in an exceptional man of the match showing to help his team prevail in a pulsating penalty shootout vs. RC Lens in the Coupe de France.
Having spent last season on loan at Cercle Brugge, this, in combination with summer signing Philipp Kohn being Adi Hutter’s first-choice keeper, meant this was incredibly the Pole’s first game for the club in roughly two years.
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The 24-year-old, who’s been on the books at Monaco for four years now, certainly gave all associated with Monaco a fine reminder of his quality on his way to hardly putting a foot wrong.
Easing his way into the game with some coherent early touches as ASM dominated the first half-hour, this allowed him to get a feel of the match and gain his confidence inside the intimidating confines of the Stade Bollaert.
Showing very few signs of rustiness, he performed admirably when called into action from a variety of situations.
Displaying a fine command of his area and illustrating good judgement when dealing with crosses and set-pieces, the imposing 193 cm netminder handled aerial battles smoothly due to his reading of the play to either catch or punch deliveries.
Knowing when to come off his line both in the aforementioned instances and when opponents got in behind, it was impressive how he confidently raced out to clear the danger and made himself as wide as possible to directly save or put off attackers.
Setting himself in a strong and powerful base posture on the balls of his feet, ready to explode in a wide array of directions, this provided him with a sound platform to chime in with some exceptional stops.
While his masterful saves in the dramatic penalty shootout to deny Wesley Said and Adrien Thomasson rightfully caught the eye courtesy of his reflexes, reactions and athleticism, Majecki made many more interventions to keep his team in the game.
Getting up, down and across smartly, he was called on regularly to repel some thumping drives from Lens. It was also important to note how he astutely removed threats by tipping the ball over the bar, catching efforts cleanly and when getting a firm hand on attempts so opponents couldn’t latch onto easy rebounds in front of goal.
While he will feel he could have done better on Les Sang et Or’s second, there’s no doubting what an integral figure he was towards ASM’s thrilling triumph (as seen by his save map below).
The outstanding shot-stopper also held his own in possession, for he passed the ball shrewdly over short, medium and longer distances to either recycle possession, help his team beat the press or go longer to focal point Folarin Balogun.
The way he helped form 4v3 overloads in build-up also assisted Monaco play out from the back with an increased degree of comfort against the Lens press.
Justifiably drawing the plaudits for his accomplished body of work, it was fitting that both Denis Zakaria and Hutter were full of praise for the Pole afterwards. “He was very strong. When I arrived here, I was very surprised by the quality of the squad. All the players can play, it’s proof that we are not 11 or 14 players but indeed a group at AS Monaco. We need everyone on this team. He didn’t need us to pull out the win for us in this big match,” Zakaria said.
“The penalty shootout was stressful. Radeck helped us a lot by being the author of several saves. Penalties are a bit of a lottery, I am very happy that we are the victorious team.”
Hutter then added: “Radoslaw had a very good meeting. On the first goal conceded, he can do absolutely nothing, and the second was scored too easily. I’m really satisfied with him, I thank him, as do his teammates. We will now turn to the next round. I have also never seen a penalty shootout like this, with a lot of misses, but also a lot of saves. I would like to congratulate Radoslaw Majecki.”
Coming up trumps when his team needed him, this outstanding shift in goal emphatically underlined his quality.
Even though it’s unlikely he’ll usurp Kohn as ASM’s No.1 anytime soon, he certainly showed his skills and that he can be relied upon and trusted whenever called into action.