Ligue 1: AS Monaco suffer disappointing home loss against Toulouse

AS Monaco failed to take their chance to move up to second in the standings by losing 1-2 to Toulouse at the Stade Louis II.

The Match

Having recorded a superb victory over OGC Nice in their previous fixture, expectations were high that ASM could make it two straight wins, as Adi Hutter picked a side littered with quality all over the pitch despite Wissam Ben Yedder and Aleksandr Golovin being unavailable due to suspension.

Making a fast start to the match, Folarin Balogun fired off an early sighter as Les Monegasques dominated possession and looked in store for a positive game.

Toulouse then unleashed their first attempt through Yann Gboho, but Philipp Kohn was up to the task to make a tidy stop.

Monaco suffered a major blow when Mohamed Camara went off injured, as Toulouse gained in confidence as the half progressed.

Ramping up their efforts to race into the lead, Vincent Sierro was on hand to propel Toulouse ahead just prior to the interval with a brilliant free-kick.

Coming out of the sheds with renewed focus, Hutter’s team-talk appeared to have done the trick, for they rapidly levelled the ledger through exciting talent Maghnes Akliouche.

ASM then nearly edged in front when Balogun came close, with this setting in motion a phase of the match where both teams traded some promising openings.

Logan Costa would be next to strike from a corner, however, to power Toulouse back into the lead.

Needing an immediate response, Eliesse Ben Seghir looked the most likely, for his dangerous 72nd minute hit wasn’t far from putting ASM back on level terms before he had a goal disallowed.

Even though they kept trying and mustered some late opportunities, it just wasn’t to be for Monaco, who ultimately suffered another frustrating home loss.

Hutter’s Debrief

“We had a lot of chances to open the scoring, we created and missed a lot of situations. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to score more, and it’s impossible to win in these conditions. Toulouse showed efficiency,” he insisted.

“We made mistakes, everyone knows that. We have to let the game pass to think about the match and analyse it tomorrow. We put a lot of energy into the second half to regain control of the match, but we conceded a goal at the worst time. The only thing we lacked is efficiency, I repeat.

“We have had too many ups and downs this season. When we look at this match and the one against Le Havre, we had 39 shots in total for only two goals scored. We cannot lack efficiency at this point, and on the other hand concede easy goals from set pieces. It’s very hard to analyse what’s happening. We can talk about tactics, but when there is this result, it is because we are not competitive enough.”

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (1.68 to 1.39), total shots (22 to 14), shots inside the box (14 to 5), possession (65% to 35%) and passes in the opposition half (291 to 96) only adds to their frustration regarding the outcome.

Up Next

Following this latest setback, all eyes will centre on their colossal upcoming away clash with RC Lens, where Hutter and his team will be desperate to produce an improved showing and pick up a crucial victory.

“I hope to find a Monaco that creates chances, but which converts them this time. At the top of the rankings, all the teams are very close, and obviously Lens is a direct opponent. We are very disappointed to have missed the opportunity to move up to second place today. In any case, Lens is a very big team, and it will be a great match,” explained the Austrian tactician.”