Coupe de France: End of the road for AS Monaco, beaten by Strasbourg

After a lively encounter between two attacking teams, AS Monaco’s adventure in the Coupe de France came to an end against RC Strasbourg.

Under the eyes of president Dmitry Rybolovlev in the stands, Monaco didn’t manage to turn around a match that was full of intrigue. Trailing from the start after a goal from Martial Godo, Sébastien Pocognoli’s men found themselves two goals behind at the start of the second stanza. However, they were able to react rapidly thanks to Mika Biereth and even hit the woodwork twice. However, it was not enough to catch Strasbourg, who were better in both boxes (3-1).

Start of the match not rewarded

Enterprising from the start, the Monégasque quickly settled into the Strasbourg half. Maghnes Akliouche looked to test Mike Penders early, and Vanderson had an attempt blocked by Valentín Barco at the very last moment (2′). But after an encouraging first five minutes, it was Strasbourg who struck first.

Diogo Moreira went on a solo run, beating Caio Henrique and Thilo Kehrer before crossing to Joaquín Panichelli, who laid the ball off to Godo. Godo then beat Philipp Köhn with a close-range header to make it 1–0. Strasbourg even almost extended their ascendancy two minutes later, when Panichelli’s volley from the penalty spot went wide.

The rest of the half was punctuated by numerous whistles, with four yellow cards handed out to the Monégasques: Biereth (11′), Vanderson (22′), Denis Zakaria (27′) and Aleksandr Golovin (41′). It was not until the half-hour mark that Monaco were dangerous again.

Zakaria tried his luck from a tight angle (30′), while Akliouche saw his powerful shot saved by Penders (36′). At the end of the first period, Köhn distinguished himself against Abdoul Ouattara (40′) and Panichelli (45′). A real weapon, the Argentine striker was imperious in the aerial game.

15 minutes of madness

Eager to reverse the trend, Pocognoli made a double change at the break. Krépin Diatta and new recruit Simon Adingra, for his debut in red and white, replaced Caio Henrique and Golovin, both of whom struggled in the opening 45.

The meeting roared into life again. After superb work from the excellent Barco, Julio Enciso outfoxed Köhn and doubled the lead (2-0, 55′). But the Monégasque reaction was immediate: three minutes later, Biereth reduced the deficit with a classy right-footed finish (2-1, 58′). Hope was reborn, but only for a few seconds. In the aftermath, Enciso scored again with a sublime chip after a slip by Kehrer (3-1, 61′).

Monégasque bad luck

The Monégasques did not give up. Pocognoli introduced Stanis Idumbo and then Folarin Balogun to add more attacking weight, and Monaco began to push. Akliouche curled an effort that skimmed the top corner (67’), while Balogun, superbly played through by Vanderson, saw his header crash against the crossbar (82’). In the dying moments, Adingra – impressive on his debut – struck the post (92’).

Clinical and better in both areas than the Monégasques, the young Strasbourg team, who have now lost just one of their last 10 games, were able to keep their heads down and be sharper. Despite rediscovering an improved dynamic in recent times, the Monégasque defence fell back into its mistakes.

Pocognoli: “We weren’t good in the important moments”

Speaking to the broadcaster, Pocognoli did not hide his annoyance, stating: “There is frustration because we didn’t play a bad game. We weren’t good in the important moments of the match, maybe that’s the difference.”

Asked about the missed goal of the cup, Pocognoli looked ahead to the other big tests on the horizon. “It’s disappointing, it’s a goal given the way the season has gone. Now, we still have the championship, we are five points from the European places,” asserted the Belgian. The Red and Whites are preparing for the derby against neighbours Nice and plan on continuing their momentum in the league after their victory against Rennes: “We have a derby this weekend, so we can quickly get a taste of a positive run,” Pocognoli insisted.

Captain Zakaria shared the same observation, explaining: “We conceded goals that were a bit stupid, it’s a shame. We were playing against a very good Strasbourg team.” Determined, the Swiss midfielder is also looking forward to the derby. “We’ll have to raise our heads now, we have the derby coming up, and we’re going to do everything we can to win,” he said.

Derby focus

All in all, it was another disappointment in the Coupe de France for Monaco, who have not lifted the trophy since 1991. Now it’s time for the Côte d’Azur derby this Sunday at the Allianz Riviera vs OGC Nice (3 p.m.), with the aim being to reign supreme in a second consecutive Ligue 1 clash.