Ligue 1: AS Monaco defeated in Brest despite a strong second-half reaction

AS Monaco failed to carry their momentum from their statement victory over Paris Saint-Germain last weekend, as they fell to a frustrating 1-0 defeat against Brest at the Stade Francis-Le Blé on Friday night. The loss is a disappointing setback for Les Monégasques, who squandered the opportunity to build on their morale-boosting win.

The match

Heading into the fixture, Sébastien Pocognoli faced many selection dilemmas with Thilo Kehrer and Denis Zakaria sidelined through suspension, while Folarin Balogun, Ansu Fati and George Ilenikhena remained unavailable due to injury. Undeterred by these absences, the Belgian tactician maintained his 4-2-3-1 system, deploying Jordan Teze in central defence alongside Mohammed Salisu. Mamadou Coulibaly and Mika Biereth were recalled to the starting XI as well.

The match began at a blistering pace despite the blustery conditions, with both sides pushing forward from the opening whistle. Daouda Guindo (5′) and Rémy Labeau Lascary (14′) tested their luck from distance, while Biereth fired a shot from a tight angle moments later. The end-to-end action continued, and it took an excellent one-on-one save from Lukáš Hrádecký to deny Brest’s number 14 in the 20th minute.

Hrádecký produced another vital stop to parry Ludovic Ajorque’s attempt, but the rebound fell kindly for Kamory Doumbia to head home the opener (1-0, 28′). Monaco responded quickly, with Aleksandr Golovin’s header denied by Grégoire Coudert (34′) before Biereth blasted narrowly wide (38′). Takumi Minamino then came agonisingly close to levelling, rattling the woodwork with his strike (39′).

Behind at the break, Monaco were almost caught out again when Guindo’s thunderous effort struck the crossbar (54′). The game shifted not long after as Ajorque saw red for a nasty tackle on Lamine Camara (60′). Despite the man advantage, Monaco struggled to capitalise, with Minamino firing a half-volley off target (61′).

Pocognoli reacted with a double substitution, introducing Paul Pogba and Stanis Idumbo (69′), before sending on Paris Brunner and Lucas Michal (77′). The visitors ramped up the pressure and earned multiple set pieces, but Salisu could only find the post with his header (79′).

The hosts threatened on the counter late on, though Mama Baldé’s header drifted wide (93′) in what proved to be the game’s final chance. Monaco ultimately succumbed to a slender 1-0 defeat and will aim to return to winning ways on Tuesday vs Galatasaray at the Stade Louis-II in the Champions League.

Pocognoli’s debrief

“I think the players fought hard and gave their all from the first minute to the last. We lacked technical precision and quality in front of goal. The first half was evenly matched; we created some good opportunities against a deep-lying Brest defence, even though they pressed us high up the pitch. We managed to break through their lines as we intended to do to create chances. With a one-man advantage, we hoped to create more opportunities, but that wasn’t the case. So, it’s inevitably disappointing,” explained the ASM manager.

“The performance was below our expectations, but I take away some positives from the collective attitude; the players didn’t give up and weren’t resigned. We then rushed things to get the ball in the right place at the end and lost our structure. I don’t have much to say about their effort; they tried to implement what we wanted to do, but we lacked the finishing touch. The way we conceded the goal is also disappointing because we’ve been focused on that this week.”

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of shots inside the box (8 to 4), touches in the opposition box (19 to 11), possession (59% to 41%) and passes in the opposition half (220 to 115) illustrates aptly why losing this one is a tough pill to swallow for the Principality club.

Bounce back needed

Monaco have little time to dwell on this result with a crucial week ahead, as they also take on Marseille next Sunday following the aforementioned European clash with Galatasaray.