Ligue 1: Nine-man AS Monaco draw in hotly-contested clash with Marseille
In what was an exciting match littered with talking points that saw AS Monaco end the game with nine men, securing a 2-2 draw with Olympique de Marseille was a solid outcome in the grand scheme of things.
The Match
With many players still unavailable due to international duty, Adi Hutter selected a strong squad, with Mohammed Salisu returning to action following Ghana’s AFCON exit and Maghnes Akliouche earning a start after his superb cup cameo vs. Rodez especially notable inclusions.
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Racing out of the blocks to jump to an early lead through Wissam Ben Yedder, ASM made the perfect start. Their joy was short-lived, however, for Guillermo Maripan then received a harsh red card for a foul on Vitinha that altered the picture heavily for Hutter’s men.
To their credit, Les Monegasques held firm despite this setback and even managed to construct some decent attacks for themselves. Their resistance was eventually broken in the 38th minute, though, when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang found the back of the net.
Monaco quickly responded to end the half in fine style by re-taking the lead, this time courtesy of Akliouche, who capped off a slick breakaway brilliantly.
Coming out for the second stanza wanting to maintain their advantage, a shorthanded ASM were powerless to stop Leonardo Balerdi’s blistering strike from getting the home side back on level terms.
The two outfits continued to trade blows, as Monaco valiantly defended while still surging forward when the opportunity arose, with Aleksandr Golovin coming closest.
Disaster then struck again when ASM were reduced to nine men when Denis Zakaria was given his marching orders. But they defiantly managed to survive some late scares to hold on for a vital draw against an OM side that maintained their unbeaten home league record.
Hutter’s Debrief
“I don’t want to talk too much about the refereeing of the match tonight. I am responsible for my team, and I want above all to compliment my players for the effort produced this evening and for the reaction proposed after certain facts of the game which influenced the outcome of this match,” asserted the Austrian tactician.
“I think everyone in the Velodrome saw that we were the better team in the first half hour of play. The red card changed a lot of things, of course, but we continued to push, to play well and be aggressive.
“We even deserved another goal in my opinion, with a few good situations. We really were the best on equal terms today, but the decisions made it impossible to win this match. If we were 10 against 10, maybe the result would have been different.”
Key Stats
By the numbers, the fact ASM were understandably second best in terms of all the major offensive numbers, but were ahead in dribbles (12 to 11), tackles won (14 to 12), clearances (23 to 20), keeper saves (7 to 3) and blocks (6 to 0) illustrated what a collectively resolute showing they produced in spite of facing so much adversity.
Up Next
Remaining fourth in the Ligue 1 table following this crazy match, up next for ASM is a Ligue 1 clash with Le Havre, where they’ll be keen to return to winning ways at the Stade Louis II.