Ligue 1: AS Monaco’s quality on display in devastating loss to Marseille

AS Monaco were left empty-handed after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Olympique de Marseille in a hard-fought and entertaining Ligue 1 contest at the Stade Vélodrome under the eyes of President Dmitry Rybolovlev. The decisive moment came late on, when Mason Greenwood struck for the hosts to deliver a crushing setback for Monaco, who had only just seen a Folarin Balogun goal chalked off for offside moments earlier.

The match

Manager Sébastien Pocognoli named an offensively geared team for this one, which was spearheaded by Balogun and backed by Takumi Minamino, Maghnes Akliouche, and Aleksandr Golovin.

After kick-off was delayed by nearly fifteen minutes, Marseille roared out of the blocks, producing a host of early chances. Monaco replied as Golovin, Akliouche, Minamino and Lamine Camara, via a sensational bicycle kick, had some solid openings but were unable to convert.

After being largely outplayed for the opening 25 minutes by a lively Marseille side, Monaco gradually found their footing. With their array of attacking talent and assertive pressing, ASM responded well by fashioning several strong opportunities, for they placed OM under sustained duress as the interval approached. Minamino tested Gerónimo Rulli with a powerful strike in the 42nd minute before Balogun and Golovin had their attempts saved by the Argentine, who was putting on a masterclass between the posts.

Though initially unsettled, Monaco ended the first half on the front foot, as neither side managed to find a breakthrough.

Not long after returning for the second stanza, Camara thought he had broken the deadlock with a fine strike to give ASM the lead, only for the flag to be raised for offside.

Akliouche then displayed his power and technique with a driving run through midfield, but the move came to nothing as no one could capitalise, as the two sides continued to trade chances in an open and balanced affair.

Marseille maintained the upper hand until around the 70th minute, prompting the first changes, with Golovin, following an encouraging display, making way for Jordan Teze. Soon after, in the 74th minute, Minamino squandered a well-worked one-on-one.

The drama escalated in the closing stages. In the 80th minute, Balogun appeared to have put Monaco ahead, but his arm was adjudged to be offside, cutting celebrations painfully short. Just a minute later, Greenwood scored at the other end, beating Lukáš Hrádecký to land a brutal blow.

Ultimately, even though they pushed valiantly till the end, it proved to be a frustrating evening for Monaco, for a familiar lack of clinical edge in the final third, combined with Rulli’s heroics, condemned them to a disappointing defeat.

Pocognoli’s debrief

“The overriding feeling is disappointment. I felt that way after the match in Rennes and the one against Paris FC, where we mainly needed to look at ourselves and do some serious self-criticism. But today, I’m disappointed because I think my players and the club in general deserved much better. In any case, in terms of attitude and approach to the match, I’m very proud of my players. I told my players before the match that we had to try to control everything we can on the pitch. Our approach, our game plan, we executed it very well, except for converting our chances. What you’re talking about (refereeing), I have no control over that. So, apart from wasting energy and criticising colleagues – because referees are still colleagues – it won’t do any good. Today it’s not in our favour, that’s just how it is,” reflected the Belgian.

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (2.12 to 1.86), big chances created (3 to 2), touches inside the box (42 to 26) and overall duels won (46 to 36), plus were level on shots (18) and shots inside the box (12), illustrated why losing this encounter is so tough to take.

Auxerre awaits

While this narrow loss is hard to stomach given the level of performance from Pocognoli’s side, attention now turns to the upcoming Coupe de France clash vs AJ Auxerre, which offers an immediate opportunity to restore some positivity before the turn of the year.