Ligue 1: Impressive AS Monaco secure 3-2 home victory over Brest
A brace from Maghnes Akliouche and a goal from Aleksandr Golovin were enough for AS Monaco to see off Stade Brestois 3-2 at the Stade Louis II.
The Match
Picking an excellent squad for this clash that pitted two teams sitting pretty in the top four of the Champions League standings, Adi Hutter was vindicated for his selection, as his team got off to a roaring start.
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Racing to the lead five minutes in following a flowing move that was set in motion by Akliouche and Eliesse Ben Seghir before the former applied an outstanding first-time finish, this was the perfect way to kick-off proceedings.
The gifted youngster almost doubled their advantage shortly after, only for his shot to hit the woodwork.
Golovin made no mistake when he found the back of the net in the 24th minute, bagging his first goal of the season in style, in what was another tough blow for Brest, who also lost star man Pierre Lees-Melou through injury.
Eager to respond, some decent efforts from Eric Roy’s men arose, with Ludovic Ajorque and Abdallah Sima firing off some ultimately unsuccessful attempts prior to the interval.
Enter the second half, and Sima swiftly halved the deficit with a strong header to give the away side hopes of a comeback.
Monaco then thought they’d won a penalty courtesy of Christian Mawissa, but Breel Embolo was judged offside in the build-up, thus chalking off the spot-kick.
A thrilling period ensued that saw both teams conjure some dangerous openings. Desperate to restore their two-goal cushion, Les Monegasques did just that when Akliouche beat Marco Bizot with a sublime chip.
The action didn’t stop there, however, for Ajorque netted a late consolation goal to make it 3-2. The final whistle then blew, as ASM made it three consecutive victories while consolidating their second place in the Ligue 1 table.
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Hutter’s Debrief
“First of all, I’m very happy that we won the three points tonight. We expected to do this before the match. We quickly led 2-0 and we even had the opportunity to score a third one just before the break. But Brest showed that they are a good team that never gives up, and we had to fight to the end to get this result. These three points are very important,” insisted the tactically sophisticated manager.
“Brest are a team that plays in the Champions League, so it doesn’t forgive. In the first half, however, I was impressed by the way we pressed high up the pitch. Then we ran after them too much, not playing our style of play. But that’s football, and we have to show respect for Brest’s performance tonight.”
Key Stats
By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (2.43 to 1.05), big chances created (5 to 2), overall passes (500 to 449), interceptions (17 to 14) and clearances (30 to 16) underlined their solid performance.
Benfica On The Horizon
Next up for Monaco is a colossal Champions League clash with Benfica that’s set to be another fascinating fixture littered with excitement for ASM’s home fans, as the Principality club look to cement their place in the next stage of the competition by recording a crucial victory.