Ligue 1: AS Monaco suffer disappointing loss vs. Angers

AS Monaco suffered their second defeat on the bounce by frustratingly falling to Angers at the Stade Louis II courtesy of Jean-Eudes Aholou’s venomous strike.

The Match

Despite heading into this clash with some key absentees, Adi Hutter still picked a classy outfit for this fixture that featured a nice blend of youth and experience, with Krepin Diatta named at right-back, Aleksandr Golovin slotting into central midfield and George Ilenikhena getting the nod upfront being particularly notable selections.

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Fresh from securing their first win of the season last weekend, Angers roared out of the blocks and were right up for the challenge against this outstanding Les Monegasques team.

Meanwhile, in the case of the home side, they struggled to impose themselves on the contest like they usually do, as they committed some sloppy errors and lacked sharpness.

Angers then took the lead in the 29th minute through Aholou’s blistering blast from the edge of the box.

Knowing they needed to respond and get back into the match, ASM began to find their rhythm and gain some control, as the introduction of the exciting Eliesse Ben Seghir at the interval made a real difference

Eager to mount a comeback, the chances would arrive from the likes of Maghnes Akliouche, Lamine Camara and Breel Embolo, but they found quality ones hard to come by due to the deep sitting and defiant Angers defensive block.

With Yahia Fofana in fine form in goal for Angers and the visitors defending resolutely, Monaco just couldn’t find the breakthrough despite trying everything to get back on level terms, as they ultimately fell to a shock 0-1 defeat.

Hutter’s Debrief

“We missed everything, especially in the first half. Angers played a good game tonight, but I repeat, we missed everything. We have to apologise to the fans in this first half. We will have to analyse this. I have already answered several questions about our ability to compete and beat PSG, but we have to know how to be humble. We have qualities, but we always have to fight for 90 minutes because that is football. All the teams want to beat us. We did not defend well, as we could do in the first weeks. We have to return to our fundamentals and we will find success again,” Hutter explained after what was his 50th match in charge of Monaco.

“I repeat, it was really a bad performance, the worst of the season. Respect to Angers for this victory, and on our side, we have to bounce back as quickly as possible.”

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (1.34 to 0.44), touches in the opposition box (35 to 15), total shots (11 to 10), shots inside the box (6 to 5) and passes in the opposition half (288 to 107) underlined they were somewhat unfortunate not to take anything from this match.

Champions League Awaits

A trip to Bologna is up next for Les Rouge et Blanc, with this Champions League clash set to be a hugely entertaining encounter, as Monaco hope to get back to winning ways and keep up their superb momentum in Europe’s premier club competition.

The Tous au Stade Operation

To encourage the Red and Whites, AS Monaco launched the “Tous au Stade” operation, inviting all members of amateur clubs in the region to attend the match against Angers. On this public holiday and during the school holidays, each young footballer or educator was able to come accompanied by two people of their choice, whether they were parents, brothers, sisters or friends.

This initiative is a continuation of the actions carried out in partnership with amateur football, thus strengthening the links between the club and its local community. Despite the full stands for the occasion, the support of the fans was unfortunately not enough to push the players to victory.